Chukchansi Tribal Council Statement: Chairwoman Ayala, Tribal Council Make $2 Million Bond Interest Payment

COARSEGOLD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

The Chukchansi Tribal Council, headed by Chairwoman Nancy Ayala, today paid its casino bondholders a $2 million interest payment, said Ayala – just one day after a tribal bond payment plan authored by the Ayala Quorum Council was approved by the bank Trustee overseeing the casino indenture.

"We continue to work hard to run the Tribal government from our offices on the Rancheria, and to ensure that we pay bills and keep open the Chukchansi Gold Casino & Resort,” said Ayala, whose role as the Tribe's Chairwoman has been affirmed by the U.S. Department of Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs. “This $2 million payment, coupled with the more than $6 million paid a few weeks ago is a major step toward meeting our financial obligations.”

Ayala and the Quorum Council, who oversee the Casino and the tribe's day-to-day affairs from offices on the Picayune Rancheria, yesterday received a $1 million payment from the Tribe's casino management. Those funds will go toward ensuring per capita payments and core tribal services, said Ayala. Today's payment of $2 million toward the bond indenture comes on the heels of a $1 million payment to the Fresno Grizzlies toward the Tribe's naming rights obligations and $1 million earmarked for the Tribe's yearly Madera County grant program.

"We're doing what needs to be done,” said Ayala. “We're doing the work of running the Chukchansi businesses and helping our more than 900 Tribe members. While the opposing factions work to sabotage our people and make noise, we do real work with real results."