A new casino is all but assured to come to Carter Lake after a ruling by the National Indian Gaming Commission. The Ponca Tribe of Nebraska owns land in the city and for years have been trying to build a casino in the area.
For nearly ten years, the case has been tied up in the courts, but this week, the commission said the casino can be built. Concerns were raised in 2008 by Nebraska and Iowa's Attorney Generals, along with city governments and police, about crime in Omaha and competition for the existing casinos in Council Bluffs.
In a YouTube video to tribe members, Ponca Tribal Chairman Larry Wright Jr. said the journey through the court appeals and reviews has been a costly one for the tribe. "We've lost about $10 million a year. That's jobs that we've lost for our people, programs that could have been developed, all of those compounding factors."
Wright says they are pleased that the decision is in their favor, as it will help to provide more resources for its members. "To provide more programs that allow them to be self sufficient. To do what they want, to not rely on some of our services that we have here and that's what we want to do, what the casino will do for us." Some of those programs include healthcare, elder services and education.
Plans for the casino include 2,000 slot machines, 50 gaming tables and a 150 room hotel with a price tag of an estimated $25 million to build.
Now that the plan has been approved Nebraska and Iowa local governments, along with both state Attorney Generals, are looking into the Commission's order and deciding how to handle the decision.