{"id":225005,"date":"2022-08-04T23:19:00","date_gmt":"2022-08-05T04:19:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=225005"},"modified":"2022-08-05T16:41:40","modified_gmt":"2022-08-05T21:41:40","slug":"catawba-leaders-respond-to-two-kings-media-reports-call-nigc-review-standard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/catawba-leaders-respond-to-two-kings-media-reports-call-nigc-review-standard\/","title":{"rendered":"Catawba Leaders Respond to Two Kings Media Reports, Call Review ‘Standard’"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Catawba Nation Executive Committee issued a statement late Thursday responding to Sunday\u2019s Wall Street Journal<\/i> article about its Two Kings Casino. The announcement said that the South Carolina-based tribe is \u201ccommitted to full compliance\u201d with federal authorities and its own gaming laws.<\/p>\n

\"Catawba<\/a>
Officials from the Catawba Nation cut the ribbon to celebrate the opening of the tribal nation’s temporary casino last year in Kings Mountain, NC. On Thursday, the Catawba’s Executive Committee issued a statement responding to a Wall Street Journal article about the permanent casino project, which has been delayed. (Image: Catawba Nation\/Facebook)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Journal <\/i><\/a>article focused on numerous individuals connected to politicians. It told how they were tied to a company leasing gaming equipment to the tribe\u2019s Two Kings Casino, which is located in Kings Mountain, NC. The article also noted that the construction on the $273 million permanent casino was delayed due partly to an \u201copen investigation\u201d<\/a> by the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC).<\/p>\n

Catawba officials criticized some media coverage stemming from the Journal\u2019s<\/i> report. They claimed some reports \u201cleapt to the false conclusion\u201d public officials or their relatives were under an NIGC investigation.<\/p>\n

\n

Rather, the NIGC is conducting its standard investigation as it reviews the tribe\u2019s gaming agreements and gaming operations,\u201d<\/strong> the statement said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The statement said that investigation is focused solely on whether the Catawba Nation is the \u201csole proprietary interest\u201d in Two Kings Casino, which is required under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA). Matters regarding the individuals named in the Journal<\/em> report fall out of the NIGC\u2019s purview.<\/p>\n

Temporary Casino Open for More Than a Year<\/h2>\n

More than a year ago, the Catawba Nation opened a temporary gaming facility<\/a> on the 17-acre plot in North Carolina, roughly 30 minutes west of Charlotte. It initially opened with 500 gaming machines, but it has since expanded to now hold 1,000. In June, plans were announced for a retail sportsbook to open at the casino.<\/p>\n

\n

The permanent casino, which is expected to generate 2,600 full-time jobs and thousands more for construction, is supposed to take about a year to build, according to the tribe\u2019s previous announcements. That venue will hold up to 1,800 gaming machines.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThe Catawba Nation continues to work closely with the NIGC on its standard review of our casino project,\u201d the tribe\u2019s Executive Committee stated. \u201cNIGC is reviewing all agreements, and our tribe, just like any other tribe in the country, is required to follow any amendments or requirements presented to us by NIGC.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two Kings ‘Thoroughly Reviewed’<\/h2>\n

The Catawba Nation was forced to go to North Carolina to build its casino after South Carolina officials refused to allow Class III gaming.<\/p>\n

However, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, which operates two casinos in western North Carolina, objected to the Catawba\u2019s plans, challenging them in federal court. Late last year, Congress passed a defense spending bill that included a provision recognizing the 17 acres of land taken into trust by the federal government. When President Biden signed that bill into law, it ended the EBCI\u2019s efforts to stop the Catawba casino in court.<\/p>\n

US Rep. Jim Clyburn sponsored the legislation recognizing the Catawba land that was included in the defense bill. According to the Journal<\/em>, Clyburn\u2019s brother, John Clyburn, holds a share of the equipment company. The lawmaker told the Journal<\/em> he was not aware of his brother\u2019s interest in the casino.<\/p>\n

Catawba leaders on Thursday defended the process of how their tribe acquired the land for the casino.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Two Kings project was thoroughly reviewed by the Department of Interior and affirmed by a federal court,\u201d the statement said. \u201cThe related legislation, which applied strict federal Indian gaming laws to the project, went through a fully transparent hearing process with Congress.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Catawba Nation Executive Committee issued a statement late Thursday responding to Sunday\u2019s Wall Street Journal article about its Two Kings Casino. The announcement said that the South Carolina-based tribe is \u201ccommitted to full compliance\u201d with federal authorities and its own gaming laws. The Journal article focused on numerous individuals connected to politicians. It told […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":225006,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[61,18456],"tags":[82113,82114,81862,82200],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCatawbas Respond to Reports on Casino, Say NIGC Review 'Standard'<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Thursday's statement comes after the Wall Street Journal reported on the Catawba Nation's Two Kings Casino last Sunday\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/catawba-leaders-respond-to-two-kings-media-reports-call-nigc-review-standard\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Catawbas Respond to Reports on Casino, Say NIGC Review 'Standard'\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Thursday's statement comes after the Wall Street Journal reported on the Catawba Nation's Two Kings Casino last Sunday\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/catawba-leaders-respond-to-two-kings-media-reports-call-nigc-review-standard\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-08-05T04:19:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-08-05T21:41:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/209975820_10161485311636030_3806356663330827042_n.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2048\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1152\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Steve Bittenbender\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Steve Bittenbender\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/catawba-leaders-respond-to-two-kings-media-reports-call-nigc-review-standard\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/catawba-leaders-respond-to-two-kings-media-reports-call-nigc-review-standard\/\",\"name\":\"Catawbas Respond to Reports on Casino, Say NIGC Review 'Standard'\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/catawba-leaders-respond-to-two-kings-media-reports-call-nigc-review-standard\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/catawba-leaders-respond-to-two-kings-media-reports-call-nigc-review-standard\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/209975820_10161485311636030_3806356663330827042_n.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-08-05T04:19:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-08-05T21:41:40+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/eb30e765d812fc9b38b333f8d13068b2\"},\"description\":\"Thursday's statement comes after the Wall Street Journal reported on the Catawba Nation's Two Kings Casino last Sunday\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/catawba-leaders-respond-to-two-kings-media-reports-call-nigc-review-standard\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/catawba-leaders-respond-to-two-kings-media-reports-call-nigc-review-standard\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/catawba-leaders-respond-to-two-kings-media-reports-call-nigc-review-standard\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/209975820_10161485311636030_3806356663330827042_n.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/209975820_10161485311636030_3806356663330827042_n.jpeg\",\"width\":2048,\"height\":1152,\"caption\":\"Officials from the Catawba Nation cut the ribbon to celebrate the opening of the tribal nation's temporary casino last year in Kings Mountain, NC. 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