Tribal leaders don't believe they need to reach agreements with community organizations. But local groups and county officials, worried about traffic congestion, overdevelopment and pollution, have filed protests with the federal government to put a stop to it. The tribe has purchased several acres next to the town, and wants to build a cultural center and museum on part of it, along with a retail complex and a park. Right across the road is the old-fashioned center of the town of Santa Ynez, population 4,600.

The casino complex, which includes a luxury hotel, three restaurants and a concert hall is squeezed into a narrow piece of land where the reservation runs up against the valley's main road.