Joe Carnation said the gift means he won’t have to cut programs or lay off three teachers next year. A month ago, the tribe agreed to give the financially strapped Geyserville Unified School District $300,000 for the coming school year.ĭistrict Supt.

Its donations include $28,000 a month to the local volunteer fire department and $30,000 toward a political campaign to keep open the local hospital. One of the largest employers in the area, it employs 550 people. In 2003, the casino took in $69 million and generated an estimated $26 million in local wages. The casino is one of the few booming businesses in a region where jobs are in short supply, winery tourism has been in a slump and working-class people are being priced out of the housing market by new million-dollar chalets.

And, because the tribe’s fortunes are moving so fast, it has become a major regional financial donor almost overnight. Whatever critics say about the casino, a growing number of local residents are becoming resigned to its existence some have even become regular customers. “We’ve always been a farming community, but I truly believe this whole valley is going to be owned by the tribe within 10 years,” she added.

River rock casino fire