Proposed 50,000-sq.ft., 600-slot facility in Cuyamungue clears environmental hurdle.

The National Indian Gaming Commission has concluded that a casino proposed by the Pueblo of Nambe for Cuyamungue wouldn't cause any significant environmental impacts, The New Mexican in Santa Fe reported on its Web site.

The commission reviewed an environmental assessment in March for the proposed 50,000-square-foot casino to be located east of U.S. 84/285 -- just down the highway from Pojoaque Pueblo's Cities of Gold Casino and less than a mile from Pojoaque's Towa Golf Course and its planned Hilton destination resort, The New Mexican said.

The casino would have 600 slot machines, eight gaming tables, a 150-seat buffet, a 60-seat restaurant and a snack bar, the paper said. 

The review was triggered by the gaming commission's approval of a management contract between Nambe and Full House Resorts Inc., which manages 1,574 slot machines and racing simulcasts at the Delaware State Fairgrounds, according to The New Mexican.

The company also has development agreements with several other tribes, including one that is still awaiting approval by the Navajo Nation, with the Manuelito Chapter for a facility near Gallup, The New Mexican said.

Georgine Louis, an attorney for Nambe Pueblo, said the pueblo set aside earlier plans for a spotlight that would have shone a beam into the night sky marking the casino's location, but said she wasn't sure whether plans now call for a moving-light marquee along the highway, according to The New Mexican.

"The gaming enterprise wants to be as neighborly as possible, but I don't think there's a direct preclusion of that," Louis told the paper. "Right now, I don't know what it will be."

Louis declined to say when construction would begin or when the casino is scheduled to open, but a gaming industry publication (GlobeSt.com) and Full House Resorts have said the casino could open in the third quarter of 2008, according to The New Mexican.

Meanwhile, the environmental review process remains open until April 23 and the public will have a final opportunity to comment on requirements set out in the assessment, Louis told the paper.

The environmental assessment document is available for inspection at the Santa Fe Public Library's main branch at 145 Washington Ave. and includes a number of steps the pueblo must take to avoid adversely affecting the environment, including constructing a berm between the proposed parking area and nearby homes, low-impact outdoor lighting, adequate emergency access and even a survey of birds found at the site, the paper reported. 

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