The Ponca Tribe of Nebraska’s planned casino resort in Carter Lake, Iowa will create nearly 1,800 new jobs, draw 2.9 million visitors annually and increase the annual economic output of Iowa and Nebraska by nearly $130 million.

The tribe publicly shared the information after the state of Iowa refused requests to meet with tribal leaders and announced its intention to challenge a National Indian Gaming Commission decision allowing gaming on the tribe’s restored lands, The Daily Nonpareil of Council Bluffs reported.  

Larry Wright Jr., chairman of the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska's Tribal Council, said that as early as October 2000, the tribe stated publicly that it could pursue gaming in Carter Lake as an economic development engine, the newspaper said.

In 2002, the tribe’s gaming ordinance was approved by the NIGC. In December 2007, the NIGC authorized gaming on five acres of trust land in Carter Lake.

The final step left before construction is negotiating a compact agreement with the state of Iowa.

The tribe maintains that the state needs to negotiate a compact because it already has negotiated gaming compacts with three other Native American tribes and allowed other gaming to expand.

In a June 13 letter to Gov. Chet Culver, Wright called for the state to reverse course on legal action and meet to discuss the casino.