The mayor of Council Bluffs, Matt Walsh, revealed that is considering to take to court a recently made permission that could give the green light for a Carter Lake casino venue. At the Council Bluffs City Council meeting, Mr. Walsh explained to the outgoing Mayor of Carter Lake – Gerald Waltrip – that Council Bluffs is to take legal action against the afore-mentioned decision.
He further cited the fact that no gaming tax is to be implemented for other casinos to pay to the state of Iowa and shared his opinion that such a step would have a devastating impact on both the Council Bluffs and the state of Iowa as a whole.
Carter Lake Casino Project Faces Strong Opposition
Yesterday, Richard Wade, the City Attorney of Council Bluffs, revealed that the city has decided to gather a legal team to file a lawsuit against a decision that the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) recently made. In the middle of the month, the Commission gave the green light to Nebraska’s Ponca Tribe to establish a casino in Carter Lake.
At the time when the decision was made, it became clear that the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska could face a legal battle over the Commission’s decision to allow it a Carter Lake-located casino. As revealed by the City Attorney of Council Bluffs, now the city plans to engage a team of attorneys with knowledge of the Indian Gaming Act and in a week or two make a plan for further actions that it would take against the National Indian Gaming Commission’s decision.
Mr. Wade reminded that a decade ago, the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska sought a permission for casino construction in Carter Lake, but its efforts failed and shared his hopes that the same result would happen again. He explained that official representatives of the City of Council Bluffs believed there was good grounds of the Commission’s decision not to move forward.
Over the council meeting’s citizen comment period, Gerald Waltrip told the mayor and City Attorney of Council Bluffs that it seemed to him that Council Bluffs and Omaha officials used Carter Lake as a “punching bag”. He also shared that Council Bluffs had never faced such strong opposition when it had built three casinos. In addition, Mr. Waltrip responded to the ones who raised a red flag that the casino in Carter Lake would come as an unfair competition for Council Bluffs.
Ponca Tribe Gets NIGC Permission
As mentioned above, almost two weeks ago, the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska shared its desire to open its Carter Lake casino as soon as possible, after it was granted with an official permission of the National Indian Gaming Commission.
After spending about a ten years in legal actions, including lawsuits, appeals and legal reviews, the Commission finally allowed the tribe to establish a casino on its property in Carter Lake. The NIGC also reiterated the right of the Ponca Tribe to operate a gambling venue in the region.
The project has caused some controversy for some time, and its further progress depends on the possible compromise that could be made between the government official of Iowa and Nebraska.
- Author
Daniel Williams
