The Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma’s Downstream Casino has removed itself from a joint venture with billionaire casino owner and Wichita native Phil Ruffin. Now Ruffin will pursue the Emerald City Casino & Resort in Pittsburg, Kansas on his own.
“The Ruffin Group will move forward with our licensing efforts despite the loss of our partner, the Quapaw tribe,” Ruffin said.
Asked to give a reason for the tribe’s actions, Quapaw Chairman John Berrey said, “The state of Kansas has shown us what they think of us. So in order to help our partner in the Emerald City Casino proposal, Mr. Phil Ruffin, we felt it would be best if we were no longer involved. We will instead focus our energy on expanding Downstream Casino Resort across the Kansas state line where we have every right to engage in fair competition with the other casinos of the region.”
The tribe wants to expand its Downstream Casino in Oklahoma across the state line into Kansas onto property currently used as a parking lot for the Downstream, but Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt filed a lawsuit in federal court to block the action. “Bringing this litigation was not only a mean thing to do, and wrong on its face, but it seeks to cheat the citizens of Southeast Kansas out of additional revenue that they deserve. We intend to fight for our rights and for the Cherokee County Kansas citizens’ best interests,” Berrey said.
Schmidt’s lawsuit challenges a decision in December by the National Indian Gaming Commission allowing the parking lot land to be used for a casino. In the lawsuit, Schmidt said the commission “incorrectly applied” federal law. The 124-acre parcel was ceded by the Quapaw tribe in an 1868 treaty. Previously the Quapaw tribe said the land would not be used for gaming which Schmidt’s lawsuit says “creates an impression that the State of Kansas and/or the Bureau of Indian Affairs were misled.” He added, “We believe the tribe should be held to its word that the land would not be used for gaming, and the federal government should follow the law in allowing the state to have its voice heard on how the land will be used.”
Berrey responded, “Those who say we did anything wrong just don’t understand the laws and processes themselves. Now, it’s possible they might have believed we could not gain the eligibility, but they were wrong, and now they just don’t want to accept it.”
The $84 million Emerald City proposal calls for a 70,000 square foot casino with 750 slot machines, 18 table games and three restaurants. The Kansas Lottery also is considering two other proposals. The $145 million Castle Rock Casino in Cherokee County would be built less than a mile north of Interstate-44 and US 400 and would directly compete with the Downstream. A third proposal, the $62 million Kansas Crossing, would be built in south Crawford County. The lottery has until April 30 to review the applications and negotiate contracts with any qualifying applicants.
Meanwhile, Quapaw spokesman Sean Harrison said the tribe applied to the BIA to have 160 acres of land it purchased outside Little Rock, Arkansas taken into federal trust. Harrison added the tribe most likely would not build a casino there, at least not until Arkansas changed its gambling rules and negotiated a compact with the Quapaws. Currently, gambling in Arkansas only is allowed at Oaklawn Racing and Gaming in Hot Springs and Southland Park Gaming and Racing in West Memphis.
Earlier this month, the BIA sent a letter to Pulaski County Judge Barry Hyde requesting financial information about the property to “assess the impact of the removal of this property from the tax rolls.” The letter stated the tribe plans to use the property to protect and preserve archeological sites on the land. Hyde was given 30 days to respond and add any other comments. Hyde said, “Maybe what makes us so skeptical is that we don’t have any information. It’s just kind of a blind thing of all of a sudden this is going to become sovereign land.”
Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola added, “As much as it might be an occasional fun thing to do in another city, I have questions about whether it’s the most appropriate place or use of our property here in the city of Little Rock. I think it could have great impact one way or another on our city.”
The Quapaw tribe is indigenous to Arkansas but was relocated to northeast Oklahoma in the mid-1800s. The tribe bought the Arkansas land after it was discovered that graves there dated back centuries, to when the tribe still lived in the state.
