More than ten years after it was initially proposed, a tribal casino project in North Carolina, about 35 miles west of Charlotte, is now getting close to starting construction.

Since 2021, the Catawba Nation has run a pop-up casino with around 1,000 slot machines, electronic table games, and a physical sportsbook in Kings Mountain.The tribe intended to construct a permanent tourist resort on the land near Interstate 85 at Exit 5 while the temporary gambling facility operated for a year or two.

The beginning of construction was significantly delayed by a government investigation and the ensuing legal disputes.The ownership battle has been resolved, the tribe said last week, and funding has been secured to start construction on the $700 million integrated complex that will be called the Catawba Two Kings Casino complex.

"We persevered to achieve a fair deal so that we can now realize the full financial and economic benefits of the project for Catawba Nation members and residents of Cleveland County,” said Catawba Nation Chief Brian Harris.

“The establishment of this casino is not just about bricks and mortar,” Harris continued. “It symbolizes our commitment to preserving our tribal identity, supporting our community, and creating opportunities for our people.”

There will be a ceremonial groundbreaking on Friday, June 7. After regaining federal status in 1993, the Catawba Nation said in 2013 that it would establish a Class III casino as part of its gambling tribe, located to the west of Charlotte.

 

Pleasant Divorce

The main issue causing the Catawba Nation's inability to launch what the tribe hopes would be its economic lifeline has been deciding which organizations will have majority ownership of the company.

Developer of real estate in North Carolina Wallace Cheves, referred to by the local media as "politically connected," assisted the tribe in 2020 in obtaining about 17 acres of land in Kings Mountain and obtaining the property's placement into trust by the U.S. Department of the Interior. This was a crucial step toward the Native American group's establishment of sovereign territory. The tribe's transition to gambling was also greatly aided by the land-into-trust development.

The National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) expressed worry, meanwhile, regarding the excessive ownership of the tribal casino resort by Cheves' Sky Boat Gaming, LLC. The federal agency came to the conclusion that Sky Boat, a for-profit enterprise, could not have such a stake in what is meant to be a tribal business that serves the tribe's interests first and foremost.

The tribe received the notice of violation from the NIGC in December 2022. Ever since, Catawba leaders have been embroiled in negotiations for their separation from Sky Boat, the latter claiming it owed them $125 million to end the agreement.

Though specifics remained undisclosed, the two parties in May eventually came to an agreement to part ways. However, the tribe agreed in March to pay an astounding $40 million for the acquisition of less than 9.5 acres of rural land close to the proposed casino. An organization mostly owned by Cheves sold the land.

 

Delaware North Partnership

The gambling and hospitality behemoth Delaware North, based in New York, has teamed up with the modest, 3,000-member Catawba Nation to launch Two Kings. The partners state that the 1,350 slot and electronic gaming machine-filled single-story casino, along with 12 live dealer table games, 30 self-service betting kiosks in the sportsbook, and a 40-seat restaurant, will comprise the first phase of the permanent casino.

It is anticipated that the resort's first phase will employ 420 people when it opens in early 2026. The so-called "introductory casino" will be expanded in subsequent stages to contain 4,300 slots, 100 tables, five restaurants, six bars, and a 400-room hotel.

According to tribal leaders, when Two Kings Casino Resort is finished, it will employ close to 2,000 people.

The Catawba Nation and the much larger Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, who own Harrah's Cherokee and Harrah's Cherokee Valley River, are the two federally recognized tribes in North Carolina. They recently celebrated a significant victory when efforts in Raleigh to bring commercial casinos to the state failed to materialize.