North Carolina county opposes South Carolina tribe’s casino

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina county has passed a resolution opposing a casino being built by a South Carolina Native American tribe.

The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners voted 6-1 on Monday against the $273 million casino project underway by the South Carolina Catawba tribe in Kings Mountain, news outlets reported.

Commissioners are worried the plans would hurt investment and jobs provided by the Eastern Band of Cherokee’s two casinos in Western North Carolina, The Asheville Citizen Times reported Tuesday.

The Catawba casino site just west of Charlotte is nearly 100 miles (161 kilometers) away from Buncombe’s county seat in Asheville.

The Catawba Nation has said it has a historical claim to the North Carolina land, news outlets reported. South Carolina does not allow gambling.

The tribe broke ground on the project last month, despite a lawsuit from the Eastern Band of the Cherokees seeking to stop them.

“It’s completely unprecedented and completely politicized,” Cherokee Chief Albert Sneed told commissioners Monday. “There have been unscrupulous developers who will essentially reservation shop to find a tribe that would like to get gaming.”