January 10th is the set date for the opening of the 7th Street Casino in Kansas City, Kansas. The current site of the casino was purchased by the Wyandotte Nation in 1996 and they have been in court since then trying to gain the right to operate a casino on the site. Despite the legal action, the tribal owners announced this week they will be opening on on the said date.
A decision was made in favor of the tribe in October, but the Kansas attorney general has filed a motion to try and reverse that decision. In 1996 the state challenged the land status. The status is that the land is reservation land and qualified for tribal gaming. In October the case was dismissed due to technical grounds by the United States Justice Department. After the fact, two of the three judges on the panel wanted the state’s case restarted.
“The case isn’t alive,” tribal second chief Billy Friend said Thursday. “Everything that’s been done in court has been in our favor. We’re going to go ahead and open up.” David McCullough, the tribe’s Oklahoma City attorney, agreed and said the tribe had cleared every legal hurdle put in its way. “There’s nothing to prevent us from opening,” he said. “We’ve won all the cases. If they don’t have an injunction or stay in place, which they don’t, you act consistent with the ruling.”
The state claims that the tribe bought the land and building with federal funds, and they are not allowed to run casino activity for that reason. The panel ruled that the state’s filings were too late and because the land was put into trust by the US government the state court had no jurisdiction in the matter. Because the tribe have won all the cases over the twelve year period and are not breaking any laws, the opening will continue as scheduled.



- 2007-12-28