COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A yearslong bid by the South Carolina-based Catawba Indian Nation to build a casino and resort in North Carolina could stall once again following a lawsuit by North Carolina-based Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, the latest development in a casino turf war between the two tribes.
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians filed an amended complaint against the U.S. Department of the Interior this week, challenging the federal government's approval in March for a Catawba casino development on land near Interstate 85 in Kings Mountain, just west of Charlotte, into trust for the planned Catawba casino.
The amended complaint this week is part of a lawsuit filed in federal court in D.C. by the Cherokee tribe in March, five days after the agency's decision. A judge denied a motion by the Eastern Band for a preliminary injunction in April, finding the plaintiffs did not establish irreparable harm.
The plaintiffs, including the Cherokee tribe and a dozen of its members residing near the Kings Mountain site, say the land is historically theirs. They say per the legal process the government is supposed to follow to acquire trust land for the Catawba tribe, that land must be in South Carolina.
Strict laws in South Carolina prohibit most forms of gambling in the state.
The lawsuit also alleges the Department of the Interior violated legal requirements by not consulting with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians to identify and protect cultural resources at the site, and not examining potential environmental impacts of the proposed development.
'We welcome the growing coalition that is fighting against the DOI's decision,' said Richard G. Sneed, principal chief of the tribe, in a statement Wednesday.
(AP) — A yearslong bid by the South Carolina-based Catawba Indian Nation to build a casino and resort in North Carolina could stall once again following a lawsuit by North Carolina-based Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, the latest development in a casino turf war between the two tribes. Harrah's Cherokee Casino is currently in the latter stages of construction of a new hotel and convention center. (Photo courtesy of Harrah's Cherokee) The casino was closed on March 18 as a.
Catawba Chief Bill Harris indicated plans for the casino are moving forward, including a groundbreaking scheduled later this month at the site.
'We are confident that the judge will find that the Department of Interior followed all federal laws and made the proper decision regarding our application,' Harris said in a statement Wednesday.
The plaintiffs allege that a South Carolina casino developer named Wallace Cheves is behind the acquisition.
They noted that two Catawba-connected businessmen pleaded guilty in 2007 in a scheme to funnel Catawba funds to political candidates seeking to reverse South Carolina's ban on gaming.
In a statement Wednesday, the Cherokee tribe said Cheves 'prevailed on the Catawba to try its luck in North Carolina.'
Cheves did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday afternoon.
'This decision empowers the Catawba Indian Nation to pursue economic development opportunities for the benefit of its members and community,' DOI spokesperson Conner Swanson said. Swanson said the decision to approve the site 'was reached after an extensive review process as established under law, and the Department stands behind its decision.'
In March, the federal government approved the Catawba tribe's use of 16 acres (6.5 hectares) across the state border in North Carolina, about 35 miles (55 kilometers) northwest of the Catawba reservation in upstate South Carolina.
An economic development evaluation of the project cited in the government's decision found the $273 million investment in the entertainment complex could generate more than 1,600 construction jobs and create more than 3,000 direct and indirect jobs once built.
The federal government's decision said the Catawba tribe had 'both a tribal population and governmental presence in North Carolina where the site is located.'
The tribe provides health care, employment and other services in a multi-county, two-state area that includes 253 members living in North Carolina, the document said: 'Though the site falls within an area where another tribe may assert aboriginal ties, that fact does not detract the Nation's ties to the land.'
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians currently runs two casinos in the mountains of North Carolina.
Last year, North Carolina Sens. Richard Burr and Thom Tillis and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham introduced a bill that would have directed the Department of Interior to authorize gambling on the land.
Ron Fritz@ronfritzDecember 14th, 2020 - 04:17pm@ronfritzA Catawba Indian Nation casino planned for North Carolina had a ground-breaking ceremony in mid-July. It now has a tentative date for the first phase of the project.
The tribe, which is based in South Carolina, plans to build and open an 'introductory facility' by next fall, according to the Charlotte Observer. Called the 'Two Kings Casino Resort in Kings Mountain,' it's a roughly $300 million, 60,000-square-foot facility located about 35 milies west of Charlotte in Cleveland County.
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Tribal Administrator Elizabeth Harris said the facility will have at least 1,300 slot machines, according to the story in The Observer.
The casino is being contested by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, which owns two casinos in western North Carolina and recently announced it has agreed to an amended compact with Gov. Roy Cooper to allow sports betting to move forward at its Harrah's Cherokee casinos.
Although the North Carolina sports betting bill was passed in July 2019 by the General Assembly and signed into law by Cooper later that month, the process was delayed for more than a year while an amendment to the gaming compact was worked out between the state and the tribe. The coronavirus pandemic has been cited as one reason for the delay, according to a published report.
The law made in-person wagering legal at the Eastern Band of Cherokee casinos in Cherokee and Murphy. The compact still needs signatures from the governor, secretary of state and attorney general before being sent to the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs and a 45-day public comment period needs to be advertised before it can go into effect, according to the Smoky Mountain News.
Kings Mountain Casino Progress
In March, the U.S. Interior department decided to put the Kings Mountain casino land in trust, allowing for the casino to be developed.
In late October, Cooper's administration received a proposal from the Catawbas on how it would run the casino, according to the Associated Press. The draft could become the basis for a gambling compact that lays out the games that would be offered and revenue the state would receive, the report said.
The Observer said Cooper and the tribe have had discussions about a compact.
Record-Breaking Fiscal 2019 for Indian Gaming
The National Indian Gaming Commission reported last week that tribal casinos had record high revenues in the 2019 fiscal year, with gross gaming revenue at an industry-record $34.6 billion. That was an increase of 2.5% over the $33.7 billion recorded in fiscal 2018.
That was possible because casino reporting for the 2019 fiscal year ended before the coronavirus pandemic forced every tribal gaming operation across the nation to temporarily close. The revenue was determined by 522 casinos submitting independently audited financial reports, comprised of 245 federally recognized tribes in 29 states.
Nearly every NIGC region experienced growth with the Oklahoma City region seeing the largest increase of 7.7%.
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sharetweetcopy linkLink copied!WRITTEN BY@ronfritzRon joined TopUSCasinos.com as assistant managing editor in 2019 after nearly 13 years at The Baltimore Sun, including 12 as sports editor. He previously was sports editor at The News Journal in Wilmington, Delaware, for nearly eight years after serving as a news editor there for four years. After graduating from Bowling Green State University in Ohio in 1988, Ron started his career at the York (Pennsylvania) Daily Record as a copy editor, then assistant sports editor.
... Read MoreRon joined TopUSCasinos.com as assistant managing editor in 2019 after nearly 13 years at The Baltimore Sun, including 12 as sports editor. He previously was sports editor at The News Journal in Wilmington, Delaware, for nearly eight years after serving as a news editor there for four years. After graduating from Bowling Green State University in Ohio in 1988, Ron started his career at the York (Pennsylvania) Daily Record as a copy editor, then assistant sports editor.
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