A federal judge in Fresno on Wednesday issued a preliminary injunction requested by the state Attorney General that will keep Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino closed indefinitely.
Meanwhile, audits that were required to be filed to the federal government showed that the Chukchansi operation and its parent agency, Chukchansi Economic Development Authority, had a “fund deficit of $49.6 million” at the end of 2013.
A federal gaming commission official said the deficit is not necessarily an indication of missing money.
“It could mean they are cash short,” said Daniel Catchpole, a Portland, Ore.-based audit manager with the National Indian Gaming Commission. “I don’t know exactly what it is.”
U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill presided over an hour-long hearing Wednesday about the closure, triggered Oct. 9 when an armed group representing one tribal leadership faction raided the hotel-casino in search of documents related to late audits that had not been filed with the federal government. In the hearing, O’Neill made it clear that the warring factions had made little or no progress in settling their disputes.
The preliminary injunction will remain in effect until “resolution of the case by settlement or judgment or the court’s further order.” No court date has been set for the next hearing.