SALEM -- The Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians on Tuesday announced plans to spend $280 million to build a casino in Salem, beginning a long, uncertain process of securing federal and state approval to construct a 140,000-square-foot casino and hotel on land near Interstate 5.

The Siletz tribe is going public with the plans on the heels of the April 24 opening of the Ilani Casino Resort in Ridgefield, Washington, which attracted thousands of Oregon gamblers during its first week in business. The casino's immediate popularity has caused worry among tribal casino operators and state lottery officials that their revenues could dwindle in response.

Building a casino in Salem is "an opportunity for the tribes and for the state to recover some of the revenue that's already going to Washington," Dolores Pigsley, chairwoman of the Siletz tribal council, said in a telephone interview Tuesday.

Gov. Kate Brown's approval of a new casino is far from guaranteed.

Pigsley acknowledged state and federal officials have not yet signed off on her tribe's casino plans. She said her tribe has consulted with Oregon's other tribes, hoping to attract them to join the casino venture as partners, which she said could show much-needed buy-in to federal regulators. The tribe hopes to open a gambling, entertainment and hotel facility in 2021.

When asked if any tribes have agreed to join the project, Pigsley said, "It's a little early in the game to have those discussions."

The Siletz tribe operates the Chinook Winds Casino on its reservation in Lincoln County. The proposed Salem casino site is not located on tribal reservation land, said Craig Dorsey, an attorney for the project. But the 20-acre parcel is federal trust land, he said, meaning the site is "already eligible" for casino development.

To break ground, the tribe will need approval from U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and Gov. Kate Brown.

Pigsley said she is unsure of Zinke's position on casino developments, adding that some key Bureau of Indian Affairs oficials who would be involved in casino approval have not been appointed or confirmed by the Trump administration. Bill Iyall, chairman of the Cowlitz Indian Tribe, which operates the newly opened Ilani Casino, thanked Zinke last month for "continued support" of the project as it faced litigation.

Brown told federal officials in April 2016 that the Coquille tribe's plans to build a casino in Medford should be quashed. Brown wrote that although she understands a casino may benefit tribal members, Oregon should "resist the building of additional casinos." Approval for "even a single, modest casino" could spark efforts to expand gambling enterprises in Oregon, Brown wrote, "to the detriment of the public welfare."

Piglsey doubted if Brown is as steadfast in her disapproval of new casinos as her letter might imply.

"She said that publicly but I believe she has an interest in looking at tribal participation," Pigsley said. "It'll be up to her to decide how she wants to deal with it."

Bryan Hockaday, a spokesman for Brown, said in a statement that the governor is "willing to discuss" an intertribal casino project if all of Oregon's nine federally recognized tribes agree to the idea.

"To date, Governor Brown has not received any proposal that enjoys comprehensive tribal support," Hockaday said. "Should Governor Brown receive such a proposal, the discussion would focus on whether the proposed casino would be in the best interest of the tribes, and of the people of Oregon."

Another concern is how a new casino may affect Oregon's lottery. The Ilani Casino's appeal to Oregon gamblers could cause as much as $100 million in lost lottery revenue, according to the state Office of Economic Analysis.

The effect of a new casino on Oregon's lottery shouldn't be a deciding factor in whether to approve it, Pigsley said.

"The Oregon lottery has also affected casino tribes," Pigsley said. "It's a two-way street."

Her tribe expects that a Salem-based casino could create 1,500 full-time jobs and generate $185 million in its first year of operation. A quarter of the revenue would be distributed to state and local governments, according to a news release. That's far more than Oregon's other tribal casinos, which donate 6 percent of revenues, and the Ilani Casino, which will donate 2 percent.

One supporter of the project is Rep. Brian Clem, D-Salem, who said he was briefed on its details last week. Clem said he supports constructing a "super-casino" in Salem to offset revenue lost to the Ilani Casino.

"Plus it would mean more people coming to visit my area of the state," he said, "and bringing more tourist dollars to Salem."

The Siletz tribe attempted to get approval for a Salem casino decades ago, but was hamstrung by a 1997 U.S. Court of Appeals decision upholding a governor's right to veto off-reservation casino construction. The tribe's plans had been approved by the George H.W. Bush administration, but over-ruled by then-Gov. Barbara Roberts. Roberts later struck a deal with the Siletz tribe, laying groundwork for its Lincoln City casino.

Then-Gov. John Kitzhaber nixed an off-reservation casino plan in 1999, preventing the Warm Springs tribes from opening a gaming site in the Columbia River Gorge town of Cascade Locks.

Today, all nine of Oregon's federally-recognized tribes operate casinos.

-- Gordon R. Friedman

503-221-8209; @GordonRFriedman