Steve Harrison/WFAE Catawba Chief William Harris wants to open a temporary casino in Cleveland County next year.Īnd South Carolina has continually said no to gambling. The tribe received $50 million, and, as part of that, agreed not to have gambling, so long as the state prohibited it. In 1993, the Catawba signed a settlement agreement with the state of South Carolina. It still applies to every other tribe who wants to expand their gaming territory.” “And now the rule book is being thrown out the window for the Catawba tribe. “We’ve made these strategic business decisions based on the laws and regulations that are in place,” Sneed said. The Eastern Band's argument is that the Catawba Nation is getting special treatment, and the casino would be built on Cherokee ancestral land. The Cherokee have sued the Department of the Interior to stop it, and a federal judge has agreed to fast-track the litigation for early next year. The Catawba had its own groundbreaking last spring for a casino across the border in Kings Mountain, North Carolina. The biggest fight is with the Catawba Nation of South Carolina, based in York County. With so much money at stake, he’s at the center of a feud with two other tribes, in part over the possibility of more casinos coming to North Carolina. Steve Harrison/WFAE The Cherokee casino is undergoing a $330 million expansion.