Mohegan Invest in Washington Casino

VANCOUVER, Washington – As reported by the Columbian: "The gleaming glass of the Mohegan Sun's 34-story hotel is the only thing taller than the trees in this part of southeastern Connecticut. It dominates the skyline, like a city unto itself. A version of that skyline may be on its way to north Clark County, Wash., where the Mohegan Tribe hopes to manage a casino owned by the Cowlitz Tribe on 152 acres of pasture near La Center.

"The Mohegan Tribe has pledged to invest $6.5 million in exchange for a percentage of the profit and an agreement to manage the facility for seven years. That won't buy anything like the Mohegan Sun, which completed a $1 billion expansion in 2002. But it is enough to build the biggest casino in Washington state. Cowlitz spokesman David Barnett says it will be bigger by half than the state's largest to date, the Tulalip Casino in Marysville, Wash.

"The plan is contingent on the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which is deciding whether to grant the Cowlitz's request that the 152 acres be named the tribe's first reservation.

"…In Clark County, Wash., nobody is worrying that a Cowlitz casino won't reach the Mohegan Sun's level of success. Instead, they're wondering how it will affect traffic, the environment, competing businesses and schools. Many assume it will be for the worse…"