By BRODIE FARQUHAR
Star-Tribune correspondent
[oas:casperstartribune.net/news/wyoming:Middle1]
LANDER -- With Wednesday's approval of a gambling compact with the state of Wyoming, the Eastern Shoshone Tribe can now move forward with a lot of key decisions concerning its plans for Wind River Indian Reservation casinos, a tribal leader said.
Eastern Shoshone Business Council Chairman Ivan Posey said decisions about where to build casinos, what architect to hire and more are still pending.
Posey has previously said he’d like to focus on developing a casino as well as other recreation facilities, such as a golf course, campgrounds or movie theater n all designed to target tourists traveling to and from Yellowstone National Park to the north.
“We have to have more than a casino to attract people,” he said in a telephone interview Wednesday afternoon.
Wyoming Attorney General Pat Crank, who led the state’s negotiating team, said the compact is as close as identical to the Northern Arapaho Tribe's compact with the federal government as he could make it.
Crank said both tribes have a 69,000-square-foot limit on floor space. Posey indicated the Eastern Shoshone will have more than one gaming facility.
Crank said there’s no limit on machines, and there’s no money coming from the Eastern Shoshone to the state or local communities to compensate for the impact of gambling.
Lannie Applegate, chairman of the Fremont County Commission, said Wednesday he hoped the commission would have open communication with the Eastern Shoshone, just as it has had with the Northern Arapaho.
"I look forward to talking to the Eastern Shoshone Business Council," Applegate said.
State and Eastern Shoshone officials plan to gather on the reservation May 5 for a ceremonial signing of the compact.
The Northern Arapaho Tribe plans to build a casino south of Riverton, not far from its current Wind River Casino operation that consists of electronic gambling machines.
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