PLYMOUTH -- The Ione Band of Miwok Indians is not a restored tribe and therefore can't legally use land it bought to build a casino here, according to a Department of the Interior memorandum issued in the final days of the Bush Administration.

But whether the opinion by Department of the Interior Solicitor David L. Bernhardt definitively dooms the casino is not yet clear. Bernhardt's memo was dated Jan. 16. Four days later, Barack Obama was sworn in as president, and Ken Salazar became the new Secretary of the Interior.

Bernhardt is no longer solicitor and Salazar has not yet named his replacement. Bureau of Indian Affairs Spokeswoman Nedra Darling confirmed that Bernhardt's memo is valid, but noted that the opinion expressed in it is not yet final and will be reviewed by the new administration.

The Ione Band of Miwok Indians hopes to build a casino with 2000 slot machines and 40 gaming tables on 228 acres the tribe bought in Plymouth, just 50 miles from Stockton.

Read Saturday's Record for more on this story by staff writer Dana Nichols.