Elkgrovelagunanews.com

Contrary to popular belief, this is not the beginning of construction. That will come later this year. This week the Wilton Rancheria began drill testing on the site of the long awaited Wilton Rancheria Casino in Elk Grove. Heavy equipment was brought into the casino site this week. Elk Grove Laguna News contacted Raymond “Chuckie” Hitchcock, Chairman of the tribe about the activity, and he issued the following statement:

“This week, as planned, we started drilling at the future resort and casino site on our Tribal land in Elk Grove, as we continue to move the project forward toward construction. The timing of particular project phases may vary but we remain on track for completion in 2020.”


“The drilling is called pile load testing and it’s the first step in preparing the site for the next phases of groundbreaking and construction. Pile load testing is a process where piles are drilled into the ground to test their structural bearing capacity.”

“We’ll keep everyone posted on our progress and plans to break ground on this exciting project, which will create thousands of jobs and tens of millions of dollars in community investments, and which, after decades of struggle, will put our tribe on the path to self-sufficiency.”

The casino is planned for a 36 acre parcel, just north of the vacant Elk Grove Outlet Mall. Plans for the casino call for it to demolish part of the outlet mall. The mall property is owned by the Howard Hughes Corporation, and is separate from the casino site. No update from the Hughes Corporation on the outlet mall.