The Catawba Indian Nation, based in South Carolina, recently opened a temporary facility for its Two Kings Casino Resort in Kings Mountain, North Carolina, about 35 miles west of Charlotte. Local, state and federal officials participated in the opening of the tribe’s “pre-launch facility,” a 14,700-square-foot nonsmoking gaming area created from 29 modular trailers, offering 500 slot machines, snack bar and service bar.
Catawba Assistant Chief Jason Harris said Two Kings’ temporary facility will employ 250 people; about 25 percent will be tribal members, including all slot technicians.
Later this year, construction will begin on the permanent, $273 million Two Kings Casino Resort which is expected to create 4,000 construction jobs and 2,600 permanent jobs when it’s completed in summer 2022. The gaming floor will offer 1,800 slots and table-game seats. The property will be managed by global hospitality company Delaware North based in Buffalo, New York.
The Catawba tribe has pursued its dream of casino gaming since 2013. Unable to open a casino in South Carolina, where casino gambling is prohibited, it sought property in North Carolina. In March, the U.S. Department of the Interior took into trust 17 acres in Cleveland County, North Carolina, in recognition of the tribe’s ancestral connection to that region.
In January, the Catawba tribe and North Carolina Governor Roy Copper signed a Class III gaming compact, which was approved by the Interior Department in March.
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, owners of two Harrah’s Cherokee casinos in North Carolina, sued to block the Catawba facility. In April a federal court judge in the District of Columbia dismissed the lawsuit. Catawba Chief Bill Harris said, “Catawba Two Kings Casino represents the righting of a historical wrong for the Catawba Nation. But it is also so much more. It represents a prosperous future and renewed kinship between the Catawba Nation and the many communities that now occupy Catawba ancestral lands.”
The Eastern Band of Cherokee have appealed the ruling.
