Ground breaking work begins on Rohnert Park casino

The Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria broke ground Monday on a $433 million hotel-casino in Northern California. The tribe received local approval recently to begin grading on 64 acres of the tribe's 254-acre reservation.

The tribe said the Rohnert Park casino project, a joint venture with Station Casinos, Inc., will create almost 900 construction jobs. Once completed, the hotel-casino is expected to employ 2,250 workers.

The compact reached between the state and the tribe allowing the tribe to operate the casino awaits U.S. Department of the Interior approval.

Station Casinos expects construction of the 535,000-square-foot project to finish in 18 to 24 months. The 100,000-square-foot casino will operate up to 3,000 slot machines.

The Las Vegas-based gaming company's management contract is for seven years. Station will receive 24 percent of facility's net income for the first four years, and 27 percent for the last three years.

In its 2011 annual report, Station Casinos said it had advanced the tribe $153.35 million to support the project as of Dec. 31.