Rendering of the proposed Warrior Casino & Hotel in Sioux City that was rejected by the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission.
A judge said the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska waited too long to join a lawsuit over a commercial casino in Iowa. Ho-Chunk Inc, the tribe's economic development entity, proposed the $122 million Warrior Casino and Hotel in downtown Sioux City. The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission (IRGC) went with another developer, prompting a lawsuit from Penn National Gaming, whose proposal was also rejected. Polk County District Court Judge Eliza Ovrom said Ho-Chunk Inc could have filed its own lawsuit. But the deadline to do that passed long ago, she determined. "Given that Warrior was well aware of the IRGC action at the time it was taken in April 2013, this application to intervene is an attempt to make an end run around the Iowa Administrative Procedures Act," Ovrom said in the 10-page decision, The Sioux City Journal reported. The tribe is considering an appeal, Ho-Chunk Inc CEO Lance Morgan told the paper. He noted that two other parties -- the Sioux City government and the developer behind the winning proposal -- were allowed to join the Penn National's lawsuit even though didn't meet the deadline either. "It doesn't strike me as extremely fair," Morgan told the paper. The IRGC awarded the license to SCE Partners, whose $128.5 million Hard Rock themed facility is scheduled to open in August. Get the Story:
Ho-Chunk denied entrance into Sioux City casino suit (The Sioux City Journal 6/12)
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