KINGS MOUNTAIN – In South Carolina, the only federally recognized tribe Catawba Indian Nation opens a temporary version of its most awaited Casino.
Notable political stakeholders and the tribal leaders were present when the ribbons were cut to celebrate the potential jobs estimated to be over 2500 and the economic activity the 500 slot machines will create paving the way for the $273 million Catwaba Two Kings Casino. The full Catawba Casino Resort has an expected date of 2024 for completion. The construction of the permanent network will start at the end of this year.
The project was approved by the Cleveland Country in 2020 and 17 acres of land was allotted to the project. The Tribal leaders believe it will safeguard the historical land that belonged to their ancestors and will offer South Carolina new ways of gambling over bingo.
The tribal chief Bill Harris said in a press release “But it is also so much more. It represents the prosperous future and renewed kingship between the Catawba Nation and many communities that now occupy Catawba ancestral lands.”
The revenue will be shared between the Cleveland Country and the tribes whose ancestral lands will be used to build this resort according to the pact signed between the tribes and Gov. Roy Cooper in January.
In April the project saw a hurdle because of the efforts of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, who were determined to prevent the project but the federal judge gave a verdict in favor of the Catawbas.
It is the first Casino in Charlotte, a city in North Carolina. The Tribal chief aims to increase the standard of living of the local through the money generated from this project and want to invest it in housing societies and other social wellbeing work in the region while also improving the healthcare and education structure. They believe the economic development will take the tribe out of the current state and elevate it to great heights.
The aim of the company is to make people gamble responsibly and not exploit their addiction and have trained their employees to further solidify their claims. The restless and irritability of the gamblers will not be exploited by them and will not promote the preoccupation of money for gambling. Healthy gambling habits will be encouraged that stops people from compulsive gambling so the important relationships in the society like family, friendships, kinship, and companionship are retained in the region.
The critics of the project though say that the casinos are built to take money out of the pockets of the local people and this addiction is not once a week but it is coming every day of the week after work and losing the hard-earned money.
Les Bernal, who is the officer at Stop Predatory Gambling has said “It’s not someone going once a year and losing some cash,” Bernal said. “It’s coming every day after work four to five times a week. That’s the business model for these local casinos.”