© 2026 Blue Ridge Public Radio
Blue Ridge Mountains banner background
Your source for information and inspiration in Western North Carolina.
Donate
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
BPR is hiring!

Will There Be A New Tribal Casino In North Carolina?

WUNC News | By Frank Stasio,
Amanda Magnus
Published May 7, 2019 at 12:04 PM EDT
An artist's rendering of the proposed casino in Cleveland County.
An artist's rendering of the proposed casino in Cleveland County.

A Congressional bill that would make way for a new casino is sparking controversy in western North Carolina. The bill would allow the Catawba Indian Nation to establish a gaming facility in Cleveland County. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians say this new casino would hurt their facilities in Cherokee and Murphy. Host Frank Stasio talks with Holly Kays, Cherokee reporter for The Smoky Mountain News, about the possibility of a new tribal casino in North Carolina.

They also argue this would set a precedent that would allow tribes to bypass Indian gaming law by finding a sympathetic lawmaker to write a bill. The Catawba Nation say the Cleveland County land is aboriginal to their tribe and that this bill would correct an oversight in a 1993 land claim settlement.

Host Frank Stasio talks to reporter Holly Kays about the proposed gaming facility and how western North Carolina is reacting. Kays is the Cherokee reporter for The Smoky Mountain News.

Copyright 2019 North Carolina Public Radio
Frank Stasio
Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.
See stories by Frank Stasio
Amanda Magnus
Amanda Magnus grew up in Maryland and went to high school in Baltimore. She became interested in radio after an elective course in the NYU journalism department. She got her start at Sirius XM Satellite Radio, but she knew public radio was for her when she interned at WNYC. She later moved to Madison, where she worked at Wisconsin Public Radio for six years. In her time there, she helped create an afternoon drive news magazine show, called Central Time. She also produced several series, including one on Native American life in Wisconsin. She spends her free time running, hiking, and roller skating. She also loves scary movies.
See stories by Amanda Magnus