Developers now want sports bar at BA casino site

BROKEN ARROW, Okla. - The fight over a controversial tribal casino may not be over after all.

The Kialegee Tribe, who wants to build the casino, is now asking the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) to reverse a decision it issued last week, which said the tribe could not build the casino because the landowners weren't Kialegees and the land was ineligible for gaming.

The tribe believes the NIGC's decision should be revisited now that the landowners, Marcella Giles and her sister Wynema Capps, are enrolled members of the Kialegee Tribe.

Meanwhile, the attorney for the landowners, Dennis Whittlesey, is asking a federal judge to overturn a decision issued on May 18, which barred any construction at the site.

Whittlesey said he's asking the judge to reverse the decision because his clients now want to build a country-western entertainment sports bar and restaurant.

Whittlesey said he has not read the tribe's letter to the gaming commission, but said as far as his clients are concerned, the casino option is off.

Opponents of the casino, don't think the latest developments will make any difference.

"It does seem duplicitous to be arguing both things and frankly I don't know that being members of the Kialegee Tribal Town does anything new. That is it doesn't create jurisdiction or governmental authority on the land," said Rob Martinek, co-founder of Broken Arrow Citizens Against Neighborhood Gaming.