A South Carolina tribe is one step closer to opening a casino in North Carolina after a pact was struck between the indigenous Catawba nation and NC Governor Roy Cooper.
The Class III gambling deal still needs approval from the US Department of Interior’s Bureau of Indigenous Affairs, but will allow construction to begin, according to the Charlotte Observer. The Catawbas plan to open an “introductory facility” in the fall with at least 1,300 slot machines.
CHECK OUT: The best online casinos in the USA
Class III games include roulette, craps, blackjack, baccarat and Keno casino games, along with slot machines. Class III games are subject to tribal, state and federal authorities, according to a Catawba press release.
Called “Two Kings Casino Resort on Kings Mountain,” it is an approximately $ 300 million, 60,000 square foot facility located approximately 56 kilometers west of Charlotte, in Cleveland County.
“On behalf of the Catawba Nation, I sincerely thank Gov. Cooper and his team for their collaboration in creating this compact, which is the key step in bringing economic benefits and thousands of jobs from our casino project to the citizens of North Carolina, “The head of Catawba, Bill Harris, said in a press release on Saturday.” With the work on the compact completed, we will move the project from the site preparation phase to the vertical construction of an introductory casino game facility to open. this fall. “
The Catawbas casino is being contested by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, which owns two casinos in western North Carolina and recently announced that it has agreed to an amended pact with the state to allow sports betting at its Harrah’s Cherokee casinos. It can start in the first quarter of this year.
Chief Chief Richard Sneed of the Oriental Band of Cherokee Indians released a statement over the weekend, according to The Watcher, and called the signing of the Cooper pact “disappointing”.
“The proposed Kings Mountain casino was born out of an illegal act and has continued to revolve around controversy and unethical behavior,” said Sneed in the statement. “But this compact doesn’t change anything. We continue to believe that the courts will affirm the illegality of this casino and, when that happens, the Catawba agreement will be nothing more than a worthless piece of paper. “
North Carolina Casino Agreement Details
In March 2020, the United States Department of the Interior placed the Kings Mountain casino grounds in trust, allowing the development of the casino. In late October, Cooper’s administration received a proposal from the Catawbas on how they would manage the casino, according to the Associated Press.
That outline was the basis for the game pact that was reached on Friday. The story in The Watcher and the press release Catawba said the details of the compact include:
- For an exclusive right to live table games in certain counties, the state will receive a percentage of the revenue from live table games projected to reach $ 5 million to $ 10 million per year.
- To defray state costs associated with sports and horse betting supervision, he will receive a flat fee of $ 191,000.
- To be transferred to a foundation for the benefit of the Catawba, other recognized state and federal tribes and the local community, a figure that starts at US $ 1 million a year, but in full development will reach US $ 7.5 million a year.
- Generation of taxes. The casino / resort can generate millions in state tax revenue by taxing suppliers and employees. In addition, the Catawba Nation has agreed to make payments instead of taxes to Cleveland County, where the casino will be located.
Cherokees will soon make the first sports bet
Although the North Carolina sports betting bill was passed in July 2019 by the General Assembly and sanctioned by Cooper later that month, the process was delayed for more than a year while an amendment to the gambling pact was drafted between the state and the tribe. The coronavirus pandemic was cited as one of the reasons for the delay, according to a published report.
The law made face-to-face gambling legal at Eastern Band of Cherokee casinos in Cherokee and Murphy. The pact is in the process of completing a 45-day public comment period before it goes into effect.
The National Indian Gaming Commission recently reported that tribal casinos had record revenue in fiscal 2019, with gross gaming revenue at an industry record of $ 34.6 billion. That was a 2.5% increase over the $ 33.7 billion recorded in fiscal 2018.
