One has to wonder, "does he really believes the hogwash that comes out of his own mouth?"
Shields recently told the San Bernardino Sun regarding the Barst0w casino plans hatched by Shields' client Barwest and the Big Lagoon Rancheria tribe from Humboldt County, CA:
"It's a settlement of this lawsuit for them to go to Barstow. That is the furthest thing from reservation shopping," Shields said. "They're not looking to be millionaires, they're just looking for an opportunity to become self-sufficient."
[are you laughing hysterically?]
The Big Lagoon Rancheria has approximately 20-24 tribal members. Tom Shields' clients want to build a casino resort for the tribe in Barstow expected to generate at least $160 million in annual net revenue -- even after payments to state and local agencies the casino would generate more than $5 million to $6 million annually per tribal member seemingly making each of them "millionaires."
Consider that in recent years, in addition to its 20-acre reservation, the small Big Lagoon tribe has somehow amassed additional Humboldt County fee property valued at $2.65 million. Few family's have amassed that kind of real estate.
And consider that annual income flowing to the Big Lagoon Rancheria tribe today is equal to a standard of living for tribal members four times greater than even what most California families enjoy.
It would seem the Big Lagoon Rancheria is more than self-sufficient today.
Threatening to build a casino on the tribe's existing reservation, knowing that it could create environmental problems for what Shields calls the "pristine" Big Lagoon and surrounding area, is nothing short of greedy and irresponsible given the tribes' current assets and annual revenues.
And Tom Shields knows it!
When it comes right down to it, you really can't trust anything you hear from Tom Shields unless you've verified it somewhere else.
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