Pamunkey Tribe considering $700 million casino in Virginia

WASHINGTON – JULY 12: Dancers representing the Chickahominy, Mattaponi, Monican, Nansemond, Pamunkey, Rappahoannock and Upper Mattapoini Indians prepare to dance during a traditional departure ceremony at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian July 12, 2006 in Washington, DC. Fifty-five Virginia Indians from eight different tribes are leaving for a week-long cultural visit to England. Organized by the Federal Jamestown 400th Commemoration Commission and the British Jamestown 2007 Committee, the delegation will visit the resting place of Pocahontas and take part in a series of ceremonies and cultural events. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

by: Kevin Green

Posted: Mar 19, 2018 / 11:30 AM MDT

Updated: Mar 19, 2018 / 11:30 AM MDT

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) – The Pamunkey Indian Tribe is considering whether to build a $700 million resort and casino in Virginia.

Media outlets report that the tribe is looking at potential sites for the project but has no definitive plans.

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 Pamunkey’s bid for federal recognition was opposed by MGM Resorts, which runs a new casino just outside the nation’s capital in Maryland.

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.