Indian-owned firm deals for Reno casino

The irony is almost too rich: Downtown Reno casinos,

worried to a frazzle about the effects of Indian gaming,

may see one of downtown's properties under the

ownership of an Indian-controlled corporation.

But some big questions money, for one remain

to be answered before Indian gaming comes to Arlington

Street.

Here's what's happening:

Last week, Indigenous Global Development Corp. of

San Francisco announced that it has a letter of intent to

take over ownership of the Sundowner Hotel Casino.

Publicly-held Indigenous Global Development Corp.,

in turn, is 51 percent owned by United Native Depository

Corp. That's a financial holding company organized

under the jurisdiction of the Navajo nation.

In its brief announcement last week, Indigenous

Global Development said it plans to spend more than

$10 million to renovate the 20-story Sundowner.

The company's announcement didn't, however, detail

the price or terms of its deal to purchase the Sundowner

and didn't explain how it would finance the

renovation project.

Company officials didn't return phone

calls seeking more information.

The most recent Securities and

Exchange Commission filings by

Indigenous Global Development Corp.

leave some questions about the company's

ability to swing the deal.

As of March 31, the last time it reported

to the SEC, the company had $57,323 in

cash and had lost $683,058 in the previous

nine months.

Its filing with the SEC questioned, too,

whether Indigenous Global Development

Corp. would be able to stay in business

unless it was able to find financing.

At the time of its last SEC filing, the

company appeared to have some mild interest

in the casino business, but it was more

interested in building electric power plans

in the West.

It figured that its status as a minorityowned

business would give it leg up in

financing the power plants.

Indigenous Global Development Corp.

also has approval from the city government

of Pittsburgh, Calif., to undertake a downtown

renovation project. The work, with a

price tag of $16 million to $20 million, is

projected to begin next spring.

In its SEC filing, the company acknowledges

that it doesn't have any experience

managing casinos, but it expects to use contractors

and joint ventures to oversee operations.

United Native Depository Corp., the

largest shareholder in the company, also

owns Navillus Associates LLC, one of two

finalists to redevelop Treasure Island in San

Francisco Bay. Navillus has said it hopes to

use the minority status of United Native

Depository Corp. to gain a competitive

advantage in the bidding for Treasure

Island.

The common stock of Indigenous

Global Development Corp. has been trading

between 8 and 15 cents in the over-thecounter

bulletin board market.