After a weekend of working furiously through the nights to open up a gambling operation in a trailer parked in a muddy construction zone, the Village of Eklutna says it now has gambling up and running near Peters Creek, in the city of Anchorage. The action was taken quickly to prevent the new Trump Administration from delaying the operation, which is already facing a lawsuit from neighbors who object to the impact on the residential area.

Two trailers pushed together and a couple of more on sight appear to house 24-hours security guards.

Aaron Leggett, president of the Eklutna Native Village, published a comment on Monday:

“Today it is official, the Chin’an Gaming Hall has begun operation. This represents a historic milestone in the journey toward true self-determination for the Native Village of Eklutna. Chin’an means ‘thank you’ in Dena’ina/Athabascan,” he said.

“I promise that safety and respect for our neighbors and customers are our top priorities in our operations,” Leggett said, although the unsightly mud-hole gambling casino is not welcomed by some of the neighbors in the formerly quiet neighborhood.

“The Native Village of Eklutna wants to thank the Bureau of Indian Affairs staff and management for all their hard work on the Environmental Assessment, which was an extremely comprehensive review of the project. I also want to thank the Eklutna staff and Tribal Council,” he said. The operation will employ over 400 people at some point, when the final building and parking area is complete,” he said.

In fact, after the public comment period ended on Jan. 9, the BIA gave its approval within one week and published a lengthy notification that appears to have been prepared well in advance.

“Our Tribe has struggled for many years to develop a strong tribal economy that will allow us to take the best care of our people and to be a positive partner to all our neighbors. Our now-opened gaming hall presents an incredible opportunity to reach these goals. The project’s revenue will provide critical benefits not just to the Tribe, but also to the surrounding community. It will enable the Tribe to support housing and healthcare initiatives, employment opportunities, job training, scholarships, and cultural enhancement programs in the community,” Leggett said.

Leggett also said it will bring $67 million in economic activity to the municipality. While it’s a trailer-park operation, it will only be open to eight people at one time, but will expand in coming weeks, he said.

“We recognize gaming is new to southcentral Alaska; however, there are many successful, safe, casinos across the United States that prioritize a great partnership between the surrounding community, the Tribal government, and state and local governments. We are committed to upholding that standard at the Chin’an Gaming Hall.

“People may ask why we are moving so quickly. My community and people have waited decades for this opportunity, and we want to begin generating economic benefits as soon as possible,” Leggett said.

The Native Village of Eklutna and the Municipality of Anchorage, through Democrat Mayor Suzanne LaFrance, have an interim intergovernmental agreement under which the village will help offset the costs of public safety services to the parcel. This agreement will provide a steady, predictable funding stream for local first responders, Leggett said. But the gambling operation will give no tax dollars to the city or state and it may not generate much in actual economic activity, other than move money from one pocket to another. New dollars would have to come from tourism.

For now, the tribe will be trucking in water and it’s unclear how wastewater will be managed, but it appears to be through portables. The village promises it will not impact Peters Creek, even though water table issues are a very big problem in the area.

Since early October the neighborhood has pleaded with the State of Alaska to appeal the decision of the Indian Gaming Commission. The governor has not announced a decision.