"Imagine nearly six square blocks of downtown Kansas City, Kan., as a sprawling casino and entertainment district. The Wyandotte Nation of Oklahoma does.

Documents obtained by The Kansas City Star from the Bureau of Indian Affairs regional office in Muskogee, Okla., spell out the tribe’s apparent long-term intent to acquire almost every parcel of land between Sixth and Ninth streets, and between State and Ann avenues, and place it in federal trust “for gaming purposes, or purposes for which the Wyandotte Nation deems appropriate.”

So far, so good. Since 1996 the tribe has owned the northeast corner of Seventh and Ann, where its 7th Street Casino now operates in a remodeled and historic former Masonic temple.

More recently, tribal second chief Billy Friend said the tribe acquired the Arrowhead office building a few doors north on Seventh, where it maintains local offices.

The tribe’s trust request was filed with the federal agency in April 2006 but only recently surfaced as part of a parallel and equally ambitious tribal request to also place in trust land it owns in Park City, Kan., near Wichita, also for a tribal casino.

Keep in mind that, under federal law, trust status almost magically transforms ordinary real estate into Class II casinos that may — without local or state government approval — offer bingo-based slot machines of the sort now being played daily at the 7th Street Casino."

Get the Story:
Rick Alm: Wyandotte Nation sees more gaming in downtown KCK’s future (The Kansas City Star 6/24)