The Catawba Indian Nation announced it will open a temporary facility for its $273 million Two Kings Casino Resort this summer at its Kings Mountain, North Carolina casino site–even though the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ lawsuit challenging the U.S. Department of Interior’s approval of the Catawba facility hasn’t been resolved.
The temporary facility will be housed in a prefabricated modular building, with 500 slot machines and food trucks, and alcoholic beverages upon liquor license approval. That building will be torn down when the new casino is completed.
When the South Carolina-based tribe broke ground for the venue in July 2020, officials said the venue would feature 1,300 slots, food and beverages and entertainment.
However, officials decided to delay construction until the lawsuit was settled. “As we saw the slowdown in D.C. on getting some of the questions answered, we took a step back and said, ‘OK, what can we do?’” Catawba Chief Bill Harris said. He noted the tribe will begin training employees and generating some revenue while the case works its way through the courts.
The casino resort is expected to create 2,600 permanent jobs and generate $308 million in annual direct economic activity. The tribe is working with consultant Delaware North and developer Skyboat Gaming, headed by Wallace Cheves , on the project. Full buildout of the venue is scheduled for five years, Harris said.
“The revenue will drive how quickly the buildout comes. So if things go extremely well, what we’re hoping to do is probably to go from 1,300 machines to 2,500 machines in three to four years after the opening of the introductory facility. So you’re talking now five years. Within that period of time there should be at least a hotel started and whether it will be completed I don’t have the crystal ball to judge,” Harris commented.
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, which owns two Harrah’s casinos in North Carolina, claims no precedent exists for the federal government to take land into trust that is not connected to and is located across state lines from existing tribal lands. Both the Catawba and the Cherokee have stated the Kings Mountain property is located on their ancestral lands. Also in the lawsuit, the Cherokee estimated the Catawba casino, located near Charlotte, would lead to losses of $100 million annually.
In March, within five days of the Interior Department’s decision to take the Kings Mountain land into trust, the Cherokee filed suit in federal court, claiming the land-trust decision was “rushed, flawed” and “violates the plain language of federal law. “The tribe asked the court to issue a preliminary injunction barring the Interior Department from taking the land into trust and to issue a final judgment declaring the Interior Department’s decision violated federal law.
U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg struck down the Cherokee’s motion for preliminary injunction, which allowed the Catawba casino project to move forward while the lawsuit continues. But no date has been set for the court to rule on the lawsuit. Harris already has said if the court rules against the Catawba, an appeal can be expected.
The Catawba tribe and the state of North Carolina signed a gaming compact in January, which was approved by the Interior Department on March 19. It’s similar to the Cherokee’s gaming compact, allowing the Catawba to conduct Class III gaming. On March 25 Cherokee Principal Chief Richard Sneed said he was “disappointed but not surprised.” He added, “This approval stems from the DOI’s original illegal act to take land into trust and force an unwanted casino on North Carolina, a decision that we continue to challenge in federal court.”
In response to the Cherokee and other challenges against Two Kings, Harris said, “I don’t think the Department of the Interior, after their rigorous and deep dive into this situation, would actually take land into trust for gaming if they had not done their work. So I’m going to rely on the Department of Interior to stand behind what they did.”
Sneed in a statement to the Cherokee stated, “We believe the facts are clear, and that the court will invalidate this illegal casino and along with it, this compact.”
