Okla. casino may close if trust issue not decided
OKLAHOMA CITY — A federal judge affirmed an agreement on Tuesday that requires the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokees to cease gambling activities July 30 unless it obtains federal trust status for the land in Tahlequah where the casino operates.
U.S. District Judge Ronald White wrote in his order that the tribe would be able to resume gaming operations if it receives a favorable ruling on its amended land trust application, as long as the land remains in trust and the National Indian Gaming Commission permits gaming on the land.
The attorney general and the tribe reached the agreement in June that required the Keetoowahs to pay $2 million to the state and end gambling operations at the Tahlequah site at the end of the month.
Tuesday's order granted a joint request by both parties to lift a temporary injunction that barred the state from enforcing gaming law violations at the casino.
The Keetoowah tribe opened the casino in 1986 before the federal government determined whether the land was Native American land. Under state law, casinos on non-American Indian land are illegal.
The National Indian Gaming Commission concluded last year that the casino land was not Indian land and not eligible for gaming. The Keetoowahs filed an amended trust application on Aug. 15.
James McMillin, an attorney for the tribe, said unless there is a favorable determination to take the land into trust before the month's end, the Keetoowahs must cease operations at the casino.
"It's a very dicey game," McMillin said. "We are hopeful, but we have no guarantees that it's going to happen."
The Tulsa World reported that the casino has brought in at least $13 million a year for the tribe.
(Story distributed by The Associated Press)
http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/8d3ccd92fcc347e88dda136bd40e2e2e/OK--Keetoowah-Casino
July 11, 2012
Tribe ordered to suspend gaming
UKB must close Tahlequah casino
— Time is winding down for a Tahlequah-based tribe ordered Tuesday to suspend its gaming operations by July 30.
An agreed order issued by a federal judge in Muskogee requires the United Keetoowah Band of the Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma to close its Tahlequah casino. The tribe has operated its Tahlequah casino since 1986.
Jim McMillin, an Oklahoma City lawyer who represents the tribe, said UKB officials are hopeful the looming suspension can be avoided. For that to happen, McMillin said, the U.S. Interior Department would have to grant the tribe’s application to place into trust the property where the casino is located.
“It will be a terrible blow to the tribe if that doesn’t happen,” McMillin said about the agency’s pending decision. “The casino is the tribe’s major source of income. Tribal services would be curtailed tremendously if the casino is closed.”
Suspending the tribe’s gaming operations is one among several terms of the order based upon an agreement struck June 8 by state and tribal officials. The order lifts an earlier order that prohibited the state from enforcing its gaming laws against the tribe until federal officials ruled on the status of property where the casino is located.
State law prohibits tribes from operating casinos on property that does not qualify as Indian land. Attempts to enforce state gaming laws against the UKB were thwarted in 2004 when a state district judge issued a temporary injunction because of ongoing questions about whether the UKB casino was on Indian land.
The National Indian Gaming Commission ruled one year ago the UKB’s casino property did not qualify as “Indian lands” as defined by the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. The NIGC’s determination was upheld by the U.S. Interior Department’s solicitor.
Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt and UKB Chief George Wickliffe struck a deal in June allowing the casino to operate until July 30. The agreement includes a provision requiring the tribe to pay the state $2 million — a lump sum of $100,000 by June 8 and 60 monthly payments of $33,720.
Those payments, according to the June 8 agreement, will be suspended if the casino is shuttered and would continue when the tribe is able to resume Class II or III gaming operations.
McMillin said the tribe applied five years ago to place the casino land into trust and amended its application nearly a year ago. A decision, McMillin said, is pending administrative review.
“We are doing everything we possibly can to find a pathway through this and get a favorable determination of placing that property into trust,” McMillin said.
M. Thomas Jordan, UKB communications director, said Wickliffe was traveling Tuesday and unavailable to comment.
Reach D.E. Smoot at (918) 684-2901 or dsmoot@muskogeephoenix.com.
http://muskogeephoenix.com/local/x1146337567/Tribe-ordered-to-suspend-gaming
An agreed order issued by a federal judge in Muskogee requires the United Keetoowah Band of the Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma to close its Tahlequah casino. The tribe has operated its Tahlequah casino since 1986.
Jim McMillin, an Oklahoma City lawyer who represents the tribe, said UKB officials are hopeful the looming suspension can be avoided. For that to happen, McMillin said, the U.S. Interior Department would have to grant the tribe’s application to place into trust the property where the casino is located.
“It will be a terrible blow to the tribe if that doesn’t happen,” McMillin said about the agency’s pending decision. “The casino is the tribe’s major source of income. Tribal services would be curtailed tremendously if the casino is closed.”
Suspending the tribe’s gaming operations is one among several terms of the order based upon an agreement struck June 8 by state and tribal officials. The order lifts an earlier order that prohibited the state from enforcing its gaming laws against the tribe until federal officials ruled on the status of property where the casino is located.
State law prohibits tribes from operating casinos on property that does not qualify as Indian land. Attempts to enforce state gaming laws against the UKB were thwarted in 2004 when a state district judge issued a temporary injunction because of ongoing questions about whether the UKB casino was on Indian land.
The National Indian Gaming Commission ruled one year ago the UKB’s casino property did not qualify as “Indian lands” as defined by the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. The NIGC’s determination was upheld by the U.S. Interior Department’s solicitor.
Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt and UKB Chief George Wickliffe struck a deal in June allowing the casino to operate until July 30. The agreement includes a provision requiring the tribe to pay the state $2 million — a lump sum of $100,000 by June 8 and 60 monthly payments of $33,720.
Those payments, according to the June 8 agreement, will be suspended if the casino is shuttered and would continue when the tribe is able to resume Class II or III gaming operations.
McMillin said the tribe applied five years ago to place the casino land into trust and amended its application nearly a year ago. A decision, McMillin said, is pending administrative review.
“We are doing everything we possibly can to find a pathway through this and get a favorable determination of placing that property into trust,” McMillin said.
M. Thomas Jordan, UKB communications director, said Wickliffe was traveling Tuesday and unavailable to comment.
Reach D.E. Smoot at (918) 684-2901 or dsmoot@muskogeephoenix.com.
http://muskogeephoenix.com/local/x1146337567/Tribe-ordered-to-suspend-gaming
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment