The National Indian Gaming Commission recently ruled the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska was within its rights to build its Prairie Flower Casino in Carter Lake, Iowa. The tribe bought the 4.8-acre tract in 1999 and opened the $10 million casino November 1, 2018.
The NIGC decision–the third time the commission sided with the tribe regarding Carter Lake–follows a 10-year legal battle with the city of Council Bluffs, Iowa and the states of Iowa and Nebraska. Council Bluffs and Iowa claimed the Ponca casino would cannibalize business from three Council Bluffs-area casinos. Casino gambling is banned in Nebraska where, due to a geographic quirk, the casino actually is located, just north of Omaha, though Carter Lake is considered to be in Iowa. it lies on the western side of the Missouri River and is surrounded by Omaha.
Ponca attorney James Meggesto said, “The National Indian Gaming Commission reaffirmed what we have known to be true for over a decade: The Ponca Tribe of Nebraska has the right to operate Prairie Flower Casino on their tribal land in Carter Lake, Iowa.” He added the NIGC decision was “a major blow for the plaintiffs.”
Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson noted previously it took seven years for the NIGC to review its original Carter Lake decision; this time the review took less than a month. He stated, “The decision was reached with no input from the affected parties, with no accountability to the elected branches of government and with several of the same legal errors that have plagued the NIGC’s past work in this case. Ultimately, this issue will be decided by the federal courts.”
Patterson’s office said it is reviewing the ruling and “considering our next steps.” Council Bluffs attorney Dick Wade said the city will continue with its lawsuit to shut down the Ponca casino, but acknowledged the recent ruling “has complicated things” for the plaintiffs.
