Construction halted on casino hotel

<p>A Placer County tribe says the declining economy has forced it to stop construction on a hotel that was planned to complement its casino.</p><p>Doug Elmets, a spokesman for Thunder Valley Casino, says the United Auburn Indian Community will likely downsize the project when it is re-evaluated in three to six months.</p><p>Construction was halted with just five of the 22 stories built.</p><p>The project was estimated to cost $1 billion. Suspending it will idle some 350 construction workers and jeopardize the 2,000 jobs the tribe estimated it would create when finished.</p>