Map shows approximate site of proposed Wyandotte Nation casino near Park City, Kansas. Image from Google Maps
The Wyandotte Nation of Oklahoma said it will do what it takes to win federal approval for an off-reservation casino in Kansas. The Bureau of Indian Affairs rejected the tribe's land-into-trust application for 10.5-acre site in Park City. Chief Billy Friend said the July 3 decision was biased. “It turned into a very political decision," Friend told KSN-TV. "The State of Kansas, along with their gaming partner, Boyd Gaming in Mulvane, spent several hundred thousand dollars in lobbyists.” Friend was referring to the state's casino in Mulvane, about 24 miles from Park City. State officials submitted information to the BIA that questioned whether the tribe acquired the site with funds from a land claim settlement act known as Public Law 98-602. "This decision is one more successful step in defending Kansas law, which does not allow a tribal casino in Sedgwick County. If there are later efforts by the tribe or others to contest the [Interior] Department’s denial of the application, we will continue to vigorously defend our state’s legal interests," Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt said in a press release. The tribe has a successful track record in the courts despite opposition from the state. The tribe previously showed that it used settlement funds to acquire a small site in downtown Kansas City, which now houses the 7th Street Casino, a Class II facility. Get the Story:
Feds reject Kansas tribal casino land application (AP 7/8)
Interior Department rejects request to place land in trust (The Miami News-Record 7/8)
DOI refuses Wyandotte land into trust application for Kansas property (The Native American Times 7/7)
Feds deal blow to Park City casino hopes (KWCH 7/7)
Park City tribal casino denied by U.S. Dept. of the Interior (KSN 7/7)
Government rules against Wyandotte Nation in land purchase (The Joplin Globe 7/7)
Federal government denies Wyandotte Nation’s latest casino gambit (The Lawrence Journal-World 7/7)
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BIA won't place Wyandotte Nation casino
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