Gambling
resort planned by Pawnee Nation
As
reported by The Associated Press
PAWNEE,
Oklahoma - A proposed gambling resort that would include
a casino, hotel and golf course would draw much of its
business from southern Kansas, according to the resort's
developers.
The
Pawnee Nation plans to build the resort on 800 acres adjoining
the old Chilocco Indian School, which is north of Newkirk
and just south of the Kansas state line. The 167-acre
campus has been vacant three years.
A
150-room hotel would be built near a casino housing 1,200
electronic gambling machines, said Roger Foster, the tribe's
development corporation manager.
The
tribe has signed a contract for three gaming operations
with a Minnesota company. Under the agreement, Lakes Entertainment
would develop and manage the Chilocco casino and a much
smaller one in what is now a tribe-owned gas station about
nine miles south of Pawnee.
The
tribe also would install about 65 machines in a convenience
store in Pawnee, Foster said.
He
said all three locations have been in federal trust since
at least 1988, allowing the tribe to bypass a strict federal
land review process for building a casino.
The
Chilocco location seemingly would draw much of its business
from southern Kansas, which has no casinos. Industry experts
say northern Oklahoma is a relatively untapped casino
hotbed.
The
Pawnees are among six tribes with land in trust at the
old Chilocco site. Others are the Kaws, Cherokees, Poncas,
Tonkawas and Otoe-Missourias.
All
but the Cherokee Nation have 816 acres. The Cherokees
have the remainder, about 4,000 acres, said Wanda Stone,
a Kaw nation council member.
Stone
said an agreement has been in place for years preventing
any tribe from opening a business on its Chilocco land
that would hurt any of the other tribes. The Kaw Nation
has a small operation at Newkirk.
"That
would just kill our casino," Stone said. "I
don't think anything was ever put in writing, but it's
just been an understanding."
Silver
Slipper breaks ground for new casino
As
Reported by The Sun Herald
HANCOCK
COUNTY,
Mississippi - County
officials and gambling executives plunged ceremonial shovels
into the earth Wednesday to mark the groundbreaking for
the Silver Slipper Gambling Hall and Saloon, but construction
is already well under way.
It
will be the Coast's only traditional riverboat casino
when it opens in November and creates 650 new jobs. The
casino will begin accepting job applications in July.
Paul
Alanis, the chief executive of Silver Slipper Gaming,
pledged that the casino would treat all its guests like
VIPs and offer unique experiences.
Noting
that he had friendly competitors in the audience, Alanis
did not expound on his ideas for what will be Hancock
County's second casino. Marlin Torguson, the chairman
and CEO of the proposed Bacaran Bay Casino, and Joe Billhimer,
the president and chief operating officer of Hard Rock
Hotel and Casino, were in the audience.
Both
Hard Rock and Silver Slipper are slated to open this year,
raising the number of casinos on the Coast from 12 to
14. Bacaran Bay, which appears on track to receive all
the state permits and leases it needs, would be the 15th.
"The
Coast is definitely alive and well," Alanis said.
"It's got a great decade ahead. There's going to
be more dramatic change."
The
Silver Slipper is already spurring economic development.
A 180-unit condominium project is planned for land near
the casino, which is at the end of Beach Boulevard at
Bayou Caddy.
The
casino site consists of 37 acres, but only part of the
land will be used during the first phase of development.
The
four-level riverboat will be adjacent to a 44,000-square-foot
building that will offer a 250-seat buffet and a private
dining area. It will also have a saloon and sports bar
with live entertainment. An outdoor patio will overlook
the beach. The riverboat will have 24,000 square feet
of gambling space and a 9-table poker room on its top
floor. All slot machines will be coinless. A casino bar
with wide screen televisions and video poker will be located
on all four levels of the riverboat.
John
Ferrucci, the casino's general manager, thanked the Hancock
County Board of Supervisors for helping make the project
become a reality.
"We're
going to make it better, different and fun," Ferrucci
said. "We want the people who work here to have a
good attitude and we want the people of Hancock County
to be proud to have us in their back yard."