Lincoln, California – A Placer County tribe says the declining economy has forced it to stop construction on a hotel that was planned to complement its casino.

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.

Construction was halted with just five of the 22 stories built.

The project was estimated to cost USD 1 billion. Suspending it will idle some 350 construction workers and jeopardize the 2,000 jobs the tribe estimated it would create when finished.

Elmets says people are just spending less. The casino is in Lincoln, a bedroom community about 30 miles northeast of the state capital.