A long-running dispute over a proposed casino in Madera County has returned to federal court, with the Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians seeking to block the North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians from opening its planned gaming resort.
The lawsuit, filed June 5 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, names North Fork, the National Indian Gaming Commission, and the commission’s chair as defendants. Station Casinos LLC and Red Rock Resorts Inc. were also included because of their involvement in developing the North Fork Mono Casino & Resort.
The future of a mega casino in Madera County is now uncertain.
A Fresno appellate court dealt a major blow to the North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians, ruling Tuesday that the approvals used to build the North Fork casino are no longer valid.
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The 305-acre site in Madera County was taken into federal trust in 2013. Picayune argues that California voters rejected the project through Proposition 48 in 2014 and says later court rulings established that the gubernatorial concurrence relied upon by North Fork “never had any legal effect.”
According to the complaint, a California appellate court ruled in 2025 that North Fork lacked the state approval needed to conduct gaming. The California Supreme Court then declined to review that decision on April 1, 2026. Picayune maintains that “the California courts have therefore conclusively established that North Fork lacks the state-law approval necessary to operate its planned casino.”
Federal approvals remain disputed in North Fork casino case
Even with those rulings in place, Picayune says North Fork continues to advance the project through federal approvals. The tribe is challenging a management contract approved by the National Indian Gaming Commission in 2024 that allows Red Rock and Station Casinos to help develop and operate the casino. The complaint argues the approval was unlawful because North Fork is not eligible to conduct gaming under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act without valid state concurrence.
The lawsuit also targets Secretarial Procedures issued by the Department of the Interior in 2016. Picayune contends those procedures authorize gaming only on lands “on which Class III Gaming may lawfully be conducted under IGRA,” a requirement it says cannot be satisfied.
Construction appears to be moving ahead. The complaint cites statements on the project website saying construction “has begun and will continue to ramp up in the next few months[]” and that developers expected “a grand opening date in Fall 2026!”
The filing comes as tribal casino disputes continue across California. In March, a federal judge in Washington paused a lawsuit involving the Koi Nation casino proposal in Northern California while related appeals moved forward, saying a delay could prevent conflicting legal outcomes. Separately, four California tribes recently raised concerns about a temporary casino proposal in Vallejo, arguing that gaming activity should wait until federal reviews are completed and legal questions are resolved.
Picayune, which operates Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino, says a competing North Fork casino would significantly reduce gaming revenue and affect funding for tribal programs and services. The tribe is asking the court to overturn the gaming commission’s management-contract approval and prevent gaming operations from starting at the site.
Featured image: North Fork Mono Casino / W.E. O’Neil
