Indians hope for casino

GARY -- An Indian tribe that wants to bring land-based casinos to Indiana is being aggressively courted by Mayor Scott King, whose city is already home to two riverboat casinos.\nKing said Tuesday his discussions with the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma began in January and are advancing to a formal stage.\nAlthough land-based casinos face opposition from Gov. Frank O'Bannon and have yet to win federal approval, King said he wants to explore every economic opportunity -- even if it competes with the city's riverboats.\n"I would be remiss if I didn't pursue this opportunity," he said.\nHowever, news of King's ongoing talks with the federally recognized Indian tribe, which once owned land in Indiana, angered officials with one of Gary's riverboats.\nKathy Walker, general manager for Trump Casino, said that if the land-based casino ever became reality, Trump would have to re-examine its future in the northwestern Indiana city.\n"We don't think this project has much of a chance to get the approvals it needs, but if it did, that would certainly change the competitive environment in Gary and we would need to re-examine our original agreement with the city," Walker told the Post-Tribune of Merrillville.\nThe Miami Tribe of Oklahoma first reached out to the city in 1995, King said, and had many discussions with then-Mayor Thomas Barnes, even as the city had secured two state licenses for its casino boats.\nAfter that plan was rejected by state leaders, the Miami focused on land claims in Illinois. But due to a lawsuit filed in Illinois, the tribe recently pulled out of those claims and again approached Gary.\nFor the Miami, a land-based casino in Indiana would provide an economic stimulus and mean a return to a homeland they left more than 200 years ago.\n"They want to feel like part of the state once again," Jim Dittoe, a representative of Miami tribe, said Tuesday.\nWhile both sides have set a deadline of May 1 to reach an agreement, King and Dittoe said that will be extended. The tribe has agreed not to negotiate with other cities while talking with Gary.\nKing said he hopes that by discussing options for development with the tribe, it could prevent tribal leaders from filing a lawsuit to demand land the tribe once owned in Indiana.\nCiting the Treaty of Greenville of 1795, the Miami claim ownership of 3.9 million acres of northern Indiana, and want to begin a process of reclaiming some of that land.\nUnlike the Miami of Indiana, the Oklahoma Miami are recognized by the federal government, clearing the first major hurdle to operating a tribal casino.\nThe tribe already operates two casinos in Oklahoma, including a joint venture with the Modoc Tribe.\nAny agreement to bring a casino to Gary would require approval not only from King, but from O'Bannon and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.\nKing said Tuesday that when he presented the idea to O'Bannon on Monday, the governor reiterated that he is opposed to any expansion of gambling.\nBut King said the casino project is one that likely would not be finalized until after the O'Bannon administration ends in January 2005.