Kings Mountain Catawba Casino
- Kings Mountain Catawba Casino North Carolina
- Catawba Indian Kings Mountain Casino
- Kings Mountain Catawba Casino North Carolina
Dec. 14—A federal judge Monday in Washington, D.C., agreed to expedite a lawsuit that could block the Catawba Indians from building a casino near Charlotte.
The Catawba Indian Nation statement said that the tribe plans to “begin working closely with Gov. Cooper’s office so that the state of North Carolina can also benefit from the project in Kings Mountain.” The proposed casino project, which was first discussed during tribal meetings in 2013, now is expected to include a $600 million 220,000. Location: The new casino will be in Kings Mountain, right off of Interstate 85 at Dixon School Road. It’s 35 miles from Uptown. Plans for the project call for about 1,110 surface-level parking. The debate about the Catawba Indian Nation casino project in Kings Mountain continues,even as construction on the project is underway. Now, the land surrounding the casino site, which could be ripe.
District of Columbia District Judge James Boasberg agreed to expedite the suit that the Eastern Bank of the Cherokees filed against the Catawbas and the U.S. Department of the Interior.
The Cherokees are trying to stop the S.C.-based Catawbas from opening their $273 million Two Kings Casino Resort in Kings Mountain, about 30 miles west of Charlotte. The first phase of the casino, with at least 1,300 slot machines, could open by next fall, the Observer reported last week.
Kings Mountain Catawba Casino North Carolina
This summer the Cherokees sued the Catawbas and the Interior Department claiming that political pressure from the project's developer prompted the government to pave the way for the casino and bypass Congress in the process.
'Given the Catawbas' rapid development of the site and their plans to open a temporary casino as early as May or June of 2021, the harms that (Cherokees) described in detail . . . are imminent,' the Cherokees said in requesting Monday's action.'
The federal court asked that final legal documents be submitted by Jan. 18. The judge could order a hearing in February.
The Catawbas broke ground for the casino in July, four months after the federal Department of the Interior agreed to take the 16 acres near Interstate 85 in Cleveland County into trust, a designation that would allow the tribe to build the casino. The Catawbas are based in Rock Hill, S.C. That state does not allow gambling.
The Catawbas said they have a right to the land based on a provision of a 1993 agreement that gave them federal recognition. The agreement gave the tribe a 'service area' in six N.C. counties, including Mecklenburg and Cleveland.
Catawba Indian Kings Mountain Casino
But the Cherokees, who have operated their own casinos in western North Carolina since 1997, have called the Catawbas' efforts 'a modern-day land grab.'
In earlier filings, the Cherokees claim that casino developer Wallace Cheves, a major political donor, 'leveraged his political connections to pressure the (Interior) Department.' Between Jan. 2019 and last July, Cheves gave nearly $500,000 to President Trump, the Republican Party, U.S. Sens. Thom Tillis and Lindsey Graham and other GOP lawmakers, according to the Federal Election Commission.
Cheves could not be reached Monday.
Kings Mountain Catawba Casino North Carolina
The Cherokee's lawsuit says Cheves used 'his Executive Branch connections to bludgeon the (Interior) Department.'
Cherokee Principal Chief Richard Sneed said he was grateful for the court's decision Monday.
'The facts clearly show that (the Interior) Department acted illegally in granting Catawba land in North Carolina for the express purpose of constructing an off-reservation casino,' he said in a statement. 'We remain confident that the Department's decision won't withstand the scrutiny of the court and will be overturned.'
Catawba tribal administrator Elizabeth Harris called the judge's decision Monday 'a minor change that does not affect any other deadlines in the case, including the filing of relevant briefs and motions.'