Meanwhile, the Catawbas also have applied to the Interior Department to take into trust a 16-acre parcel near King’s Mountain in Cleveland County, North Carolina, about 30 miles west of Charlotte and 30 miles northwest of its Rock Hill reservation.
The Catawbas claim they have the right to operate a casino on reservation land, and that the state would receive about $110 million annually in gaming fees and taxes from the facility. The tribe filed a lawsuit against South Carolina in 2011 to build a casino on its 700-acre reservation in York County. South Carolina’s only federally recognized tribe, the Catawbas may operate up to two bingo halls under its 1993 settlement agreement with the state.
The first was the 3,000-seat 500 Nations, which the tribe operated from 1997 to 2006, and closed due to competition from the South Carolina Education Lottery. The state Department of Revenue has given the Catawbas a special license to operate the facility, with prizes capped at 0,000. The Catawba Indian Nation recently announced it will open a second high-stakes bingo hall in Rock Hill, South Carolina by early March. The tribe is allowed to operate up to two bingo halls under its 1993 settlement agreement with the state. The Catawba Indian Nation, which has applied for off-reservation status for a North Carolina tract, will open a second high-stakes bingo hall in Rock Hill, South Carolina by early March.
