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Whether the controversial project actually moves forward depends on whether government officials in Iowa and Nebraska end their fight to stop a casino. Representatives for the attorneys general in both states did not say Wednesday if they will appeal or pursue some other action.

Details and a timeline have yet to be worked out, but Wright said the tribe intends to develop a project “fundamentally similar” to one it proposed in 2007. Plans at that time called for a casino with 2,000 slot machines, 50 table games and a 150-room hotel within minutes of downtown Omaha and the three other casinos across the Missouri River in Council Bluffs.

“They have reaffirmed the tribe’s sovereign right to conduct gaming here,” Wright said. “We look forward to having a respectful and productive dialogue with the appropriate officials in Iowa.”

Carter Lake City Councilman Ron Cumberledge, the city’s mayor-elect, said he looks forward to such discussions.

“Our whole goal for the next four years is economic development. If they bring an opportunity to our town, sure, I’m for that,” Cumberledge said.

Carter Lake Mayor Gerald Waltrip and other city officials declined to comment, said a woman who answered the phone at the city offices.

Hal Daub, an Omaha attorney who advises an anti-gambling organization in Nebraska, said he hopes state officials will find a way to reverse the decision. If not, Gambling With the Good Life might pursue legal action of its own.

“I think it’s quite damaging to have a casino right at the front door and front gates of the City of Omaha,” said Daub, who also serves on the University of Nebraska Board of Regents. “If someone wants to gamble, it’s just five minutes away.”

Nebraska does not permit casino gambling, but Iowa does. Under federal law, tribes may offer gambling on land they own, as long as gambling is legal in that state.

A new gambling enterprise in the area would probably siphon cash from the Council Bluffs casinos, which generated $416 million in adjusted gross revenue last year. That translated to about $85 million in gaming tax generated by the casinos, which are owned by non-Indian corporations.

Council Bluffs expects to receive about $3 million in gaming tax this year, which represents 1.7 percent of its budget, Mayor Matt Walsh said.

A Carter Lake casino would cut into those tax collections while reducing revenue that goes to the nonprofit Iowa West Foundation, the mayor said. He could only guess how much.

“While it would cannibalize some of it, my sense is that it would not be a huge amount,” the mayor said.

Council Bluffs will now consult with an outside law firm to determine whether an appeal of the latest ruling is possible or worthwhile, Walsh said.

It marked the second time the National Indian Gaming Commission has said the tribal land could be used for a casino. The commission first reached that conclusion in 2007, only to see it overturned by a federal lawsuit filed by Iowa, Nebraska and the City of Council Bluffs.

In 2010, a divided 8th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the lower court and ordered the case to be reviewed a second time by the gaming commission.

The key dispute involved a contention by Iowa officials that an attorney for the tribe had agreed in 2003 not to develop a casino on the Carter Lake property. In exchange, Iowa officials agreed not to sue to stop the land from being placed into trust status by the tribe.

In its latest review, the commission said it could find no evidence that the oral agreement had been “reduced to writing.” So the commission concluded that the agreement was invalid because the lawyer lacked the authority to bind the tribe to a no-gambling commitment. Therefore, the oral agreement did not prevent the tribe from opening a casino on its land.

The commission said it reached its conclusion by following the appellate court’s order and consulting with lawyers for the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

James Meggesto, a Washington, D.C., attorney who represented the tribe, said he “can’t say for sure” whether an appeal is possible or likely. But he said the commission’s order shows that it clearly considered arguments on both sides of the dispute.

“It’s certainly gratifying to see that the government took a hard look at this and vindicated the tribe’s rights,” he said.

The tribe of the famous Chief Standing Bear lost its federal recognition and reservation land holdings in 1962. But tribal leaders regained federal status in 1990 and began the long work of rebuilding a council and governmental structure. The tribe purchased the Carter Lake land in 1999.

The tribe currently operates a tobacco shop at the site, which is on Avenue H just off Abbott Drive.

Wright, the tribal chairman, said that more than half of the tribe’s 4,100 enrolled members live in Nebraska and Iowa. The tribe operates offices in Omaha, Lincoln, Norfolk and other cities. Revenue from a casino resort would allow the tribe to provide better services to its members and other native people it serves.

“We’re going to be putting our money back into our communities,” he said.

This report includes material from the World-Herald News Service.