Red Hawk Casino lawsuit not dimissed by state Supreme Court
By Dale Kasler, Sacramento Bee
Long before it opened Red Hawk Casino, the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians ran a small gambling hall in a tent-like structure off Highway 50.
The tribe’s Crystal Mountain Casino operated just briefly and intermittently – but generated a $107 million lawsuit that continues to hound the Miwoks. Last week the California Supreme Court refused the tribe’s appeal to dismiss the suit, and the case could go to trial this fall.
The suit was filed by Sharp Image Gaming, a Southern California supplier of gambling devices and the Miwoks’ partner in the tent casino. The company argues that the tribe broke its contract with Sharp Image by teaming up with Lakes Entertainment Inc., the Minnesota casino-management firm that opened Red Hawk in late 2008.