After a decade of effort, the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska’s Prairie Flower Casino in Carter Lake, Iowa opened on November 1. But the tribe still is dealing with a lawsuit filed jointly by the city of Council Bluffs, Iowa and the states of Iowa and Nebraska against the National Indian Gaming Commission and the U.S. Department of the Interior to shut it down. David Lopez, deputy solicitor general for the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office, who is handling the case for the state, said, “There’s a very real legal challenge pending. There’s a risk to the employees.”
Initially, the Poncas said they would build a health clinic on the 5-acre site which it purchased in 1999 for $560,000. The tribe’s attorney reached an agreement in that regard with the state of Iowa in 2002. But in 2005 the tribe sought permission from the NIGC to build a casino on the site, located between Eppley Airfield and downtown Omaha. A document the plaintiffs have cited from the U.S. Department of Interior called that “troubling.” Lopez said, “They were going to build a health care facility there. They’ve turned around and built a casino instead.”
The city and state governments also claim the Carter Lake property doesn’t meet the definition of “restored lands” and therefore the Poncas’ casino is illegal. Keith Miller, a Drake University law professor who specializes in gambling law said, “It’s a very technical argument on what the definition of restored lands is.”
The National Indian Gaming Commission has sided with the Poncas twice. The first time was in 2007. Then the three governments filed their lawsuit. In 2010, a federal court agreed and asked the NIGC to reconsider its decision. Upon reconsidering, the NIGC again approved the casino in November 2017.
The states and the city sued again—that is the pending lawsuit. Oral arguments will be scheduled soon, said Ponca Tribe Attorney James Meggesto. Meanwhile the tribe moved forward with Prairie Flower Casino. “The decision has been through multiple federal agencies, under three different presidents. The tribe has a sovereign right to conduct gaming,” Meggesto said.
Council Bluffs sued over concern for its three commercial casinos, which pay more than $3 million in local taxes and donate more than $8 million a year to local charities, according to court documents. A 2008 study commissioned by the Council Bluffs Chamber of Commerce estimated the city’s casinos would lose one-third of their revenue if a casino opened in Carter Lake. Also, the study indicated the state of Iowa would lose $30 million a year since Indian casinos are not required to share revenue with the state. The study further stated the gambling market in the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area already is saturated.
Council Bluffs City Attorney Richard Wade pointed out the commercial casinos are required to pay a 26 percent gambling tax to the state and 0.5 percent to the city. They also give money to charity. Native American casinos don’t pay any taxes to the state or the city. “It’s only fair if everybody’s playing by the same rules,” Wade said.
Tribal Chairman Larry Wright is unconcerned. “Competition, last I heard, is not illegal. We’re just doing what is our sovereign right,” he said. Wright said the tribe has agreed to give $775,000 a year to the City of Carter Lake to help pay for law enforcement and fire-rescue services, as well as to fund elder care, youth and Ponca language preservation. “Casinos aren’t a panacea, but they’ll help us to diversify and be self-sustaining. It’s not who we are, but it’s what we do,” Wright said.
