The Ponca Tribe of Nebraska has officially announced that it will be opening its casino towards the end of October. The venue is currently in development in Iowa, Carter Lake, with progress looking good. But the announcement still came as surprise to many. This is due to the fact that it is no secret that the project is facing legal challenges from Iowa and Nebraska that are as yet, fully unresolved.
The announcement, it seems, is a vote of confidence that the legal issues will be entirely sorted out by the time of official opening. But still the project has been nothing short of controversial. Back in June, major ground was broken in regards to the venue, but the matters are still not wrapped up, and nothing is official in this regard.
The tribal Chairman, Larry Wright Junior, made a statement in which he revealed more details about the project. He stated that there would be multiple phases, with the first, due in October unveiling an enormous 9,500 square foot gaming hall. Interestingly, it seems that there will be no table games of any sort, with the only offerings being 200 electronic slots games. The lack of table games is perhaps a move to initially keep down costs. Either way, the slots will still likely draw a sizeable crowd.
Wright also declared that the venue would be named the Prairie Flower Casino. This is significant due to the name being adopted from the daughter of a former chief of the Ponca tribe. The chief died during a forced eviction of the tribe, pushing them from their land in Nebraska. So it seems that no small amount of significance has gone into what the venue should be titled.
Further details put forward are that the Prairie Flower Casino will create around 100 job, upon the first phase of construction being completed, and the doors opening. There will also be a drinks bar and snack bar available to guests, although no official word on if any restaurants will be added in the future stages of development.
As it stands, the exact official opening date has not been set, but this is expected to be announced at a later stage when the legal battle has fully concluded. Only final approval remains, and there should be no hiccups in attaining this. However, it is still not impossible that further complications arise.
In the meantime, Nebraska gaming enthusiasts wait with bated breath to hear when they will get a shot at the 200 new slots that will soon be on their doorstep.
Casinos.ca uses cookies to give the best experience possible. Please read our Cookie Policy for more details