North Carolina governor receives casino proposal from South Carolina tribe

A South Carolina-based Native American tribe has brought forward a proposal for North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper's administration on how it would like to operate a casino on land in Kings Mountain.

Cooper spokesperson Ford Porter told the station that the proposal wasn't a public record, citing a state law exempting documents dealing with legal proceedings, the Associated Press reports.

Any proposal, if hammered out, would ultimately turn into a gambling compact that lays out what games would be offered and what revenues the state would receive. A governor is usually tasked with working out such agreements.

Porter said a final compact will be made public and need approval from an agency within the U.S. Department of Interior, which also traditionally seeks public input.

The department gave permission in March for the Catawbas to use acreage near Interstate 85 for the casino, declaring that the tribe had a nexus to North Carolina with members and tribal services.

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, which is based in far western North Carolina and operates two casinos there, already has sued in federal court to challenge the department's decision. The Eastern Band says the land is Cherokee historic territory.

The land for the proposed casino is 35 miles northwest of the Catawba reservation in upstate South Carolina.

An economic development evaluation of the project cited in the Interior Department's decision found the $273 million investment in the entertainment complex could generate more than 1,600 construction jobs and create more than 3,000 direct and indirect jobs once built.