NORFOLK, Va. (AP) - Discussions are underway between a Virginia Indian tribe and officials in the Hampton Roads region to build the state's first casino.
Pamunkey Indian Tribe spokesman Jay Smith said Wednesday that it's negotiating with officials in Norfolk. The Pamunkey are eyeing 20 acres along the Elizabeth River that sit between a minor league baseball stadium and an Amtrak station.
The Pamunkey announced plans earlier this year to build a $700 million resort and casino somewhere in its ancestral region.
The Department of Interior granted federal recognition to the Pamunkey in 2015, allowing the possibility of casinos through a separate approval process. Virginia currently has no casinos.
The tribe was considered the most powerful in the Powhatan Paramount Chiefdom, which greeted the English settlers at Jamestown, and claims Pocahontas among its lineage.
