The tribe and Prairie Flower Casino presented a check to the City of Carter Lake, IA, during Monday night’s city council meeting. The payment is part of the operating agreement for the casino. pic.twitter.com/ZHa9PNQQwT
— Ponca Tribe of NE (@PoncaTribeofNE) September 18, 2018

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Ponca Tribe inches closer to opening of long-awaited casino

Tuesday, September 18, 2018

Anticipation is building as the Ponca Tribe prepares to open a long-awaited gaming facility in Iowa.

Interest in the Prairie Flower Casino is so strong that people are dropping by the site in Carter Lake in hopes of landing a tour. But all visits must be arranged in advance, the tribe said.

"This is an exciting time for all of us and everyone's cooperation is requested," Chairman Larry Wright Jr. said in a memo on Monday. "Feel free to drive by but please refrain from entering the property at this time."

In the memo, Wright said the casino is on a "fast track to completion." It's expected to open in October.

But the facility, which has been in the works for more than a decade, is already paying off, at least for Carter Lake. The tribe presented a check of $250,000 to the city on Monday, the first of many anticipated payments.

"The payment is part of the operating agreement for the casino," a post on the tribe's Twitter feed read.

The tribe is also hosting job fairs in Omaha and in Norfolk in neighboring Nebraska this Saturday. An estimated 100 people will be hired for all types of positions at the casino.

The facility is named for Prairie Flower, who was a daughter of famed Chief Standing Bear. She died on the Ponca Trail of Tears in 1877, when the federal government forced the tribe out of Nebraska.