Iowa: Ponca Tribe breaks ground on expansion of its Prairie Flower Casino in Carter Lake

The Ponca Tribe of Nebraska broke ground Monday on the expansion of its Prairie Flower Casino in Carter Lake, Iowa. Construction began on the 60,000-square-foot addition during a ceremony that coincided with the 32nd anniversary of the Ponca Restoration Act, which restored the federal government’s recognition of the tribe. The addition of this space will increase the casino’s footprint to more than 70,000 square feet. 

As reported by Omaha.com, interim tribal council chairwoman Rebecca Sullivan called the groundbreaking on the expansion “a day of celebration," and stated the tribe planned to expand the casino even before it opened the existing building. “We’ve always had it in our minds to go forward with a bigger casino," she noted.

This project is slated to be completed in summer 2024, with the addition of 600 machines including slots and electronic table games. It will also have an area where people can bet on sports. The expansion will also offer retail space and dining options intended to offer what Sullivan said will be a “food court-type of atmosphere.”

Casino floor rendering

The price tag of the expansion has not been disclosed. However, it was confirmed that it will create 200 new jobs on top of the 100 people who already work at the property. 

The groundbreaking came to be more than a year after a federal appeals court unanimously ruled in favor of the tribe, recognizing its right to build and operate a casino on the land that the plaintiffs had argued did not qualify as restored lands. 

Prairie Flower Casino will encounter more competition now that casino gambling is legal in Nebraska. WarHorse Casino opened in Lincoln earlier this fall, and its parent company, Ho-Chunk Inc, broke ground this summer on a casino, racing and entertainment complex at Horsemen’s Park in Omaha.

Iowa's Prairie Flower Casino is located just minutes from downtown Omaha. The Ponca Tribe of Nebraska service area includes parts of western Iowa, eastern Nebraska and South Dakota. The tribe is hopeful that the casino’s expansion will continue the past few decades of growth.

“By expanding the casino, we are looking at more opportunities for our tribe, more opportunities when it comes to jobs and more opportunities when it comes to services that we will be providing to our members and other Native Americans,” Sullivan told The Daily Nonpareil. “We can be proud of what we have here.”

Sullivan also acknowledged that the evolving casino landscape in Nebraska “will have some impact” on the Iowa casino but said those changes did not influence the Ponca Tribe’s plans. “From day one, we were planning on expanding. We had no influence by outside entities.”

Since it opened in 2018, the casino has contributed more than $28 million to support Tribal services, like expanded healthcare, job training, cultural preservation and social services. The current property will remain open during construction.