{"id":28367,"date":"2011-04-14T11:02:23","date_gmt":"2011-04-14T17:02:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=28367"},"modified":"2011-04-14T11:02:31","modified_gmt":"2011-04-14T17:02:31","slug":"anthony-casino-proposal-has-new-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2011\/04\/anthony-casino-proposal-has-new-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Anthony casino proposal has new life"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

An artist's rendition of the proposed Anthony casino<\/p><\/div>\n

A proposal to build an off-reservation casino in Anthony has new life with the federal government announcing that it will soon file a draft Environmental Impact Statement in the Federal Register.<\/p>\n

Though that\u2019s an early step, it\u2019s confirmation that the federal government is officially considering the proposal from the Jemez Pueblo and Santa Fe art dealer and developer Gerald Peters.<\/p>\n

The Las Cruces Sun-News<\/a> has more:<\/p>\n

\u201cStill, it could be years until a final approval or rejection of the project comes through. The Interior Department secretary must make a decision. But New Mexico\u2019s governor – whoever that is at the time \u2013 has final say.<\/p>\n

\u201cCity of Anthony officials voted last week, 3-2, to express support for the Jemez casino proposal, Mayor Ramon Gonzalez said.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018The people are talking about it; they want the casino to come in,\u2019 he said. \u2018It\u2019s going to offer the job opportunities, as well as the health benefits. It\u2019s going to help us with revenue for the city of Anthony.\u2019\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And the opposition, also from the Sun-News:<\/p>\n

\u201cSupport in Anthony for the proposed casino has been strong over the years, though not unanimous.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt stirred controversy when it came to light in 2004. Opponents have argued that it could take away revenue from other tourism industries, or that an approval for the project could open the door for more off-reservation casinos. Still, others have objected to the project philosophically and contended that it would promote new social problems, including gambling addictions.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome Anthony casino opponents have argued it would cut into the revenue stream of Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino. They include Sunland Park casino owner Stan Fulton.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Albuquerque Journal<\/a> has more details on the proposal\u2019s new life:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe effort went on life-support in early 2008, when the BIA declined to take the land into trust, effectively ending the pueblo\u2019s plan \u2014 and the plans of about 30 other tribes \u2014 to build off-reservation casinos.\u201d<\/p>\n

But that was during the Bush years. From the Journal:
\n\u201cIn May, the Obama administration agreed to review those plans and allowed a handful of them, including Jemez Pueblo\u2019s, to move forward. The BIA eventually will use a final environmental impact statement to help determine whether to take the land into trust for the pueblo. The draft EIS, and public comment, are initial steps in the process, which could take years to complete.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If the feds OK the project, it is up to the governor to make a final decision. Gov. Susana Martinez<\/a> has told NMPolitics.net<\/a> she is skeptical of the proposal, but isn\u2019t shutting the door on it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not convinced that it\u2019s the best thing to do right now, but that doesn\u2019t mean I can\u2019t be convinced,\u201d Martinez told NMPolitics.net.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A proposal to build an off-reservation casino in Anthony has new life with the federal government announcing that it will soon file a draft Environmental Impact Statement in the Federal Register.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[115,116],"class_list":["post-28367","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-dona-ana-county","tag-washington"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28367","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28367"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28367\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}