UKB Casino may close unless they get trust status

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – 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.