Tribe to remove slots

Wednesday, May 1, 2002 | 11:17 a.m.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- An Indian tribe will remove slot machines from a temporary casino in the city's downtown area, authorities said Tuesday.

In early April the Wyandotte Tribe of Oklahoma moved 200 slot machines into the former Masonic lodge building that it owns, located across the street from City Hall.

Since buying the old lodge building in 1996 the tribe has been seeking authority to use it as a casino. In March the tribe appeared to win that authority when the U.S. Interior Department took the land and building into trust as formal Indian lands to qualify for gambling use under a 1988 federal law.

But Gov. Bill Graves and the state's four indigenous tribes, which operate casinos, have sued the Interior Department to overturn that ruling.

U.S. Attorney Eric Melgren announced Tuesday that the tribe is removing the electronic gaming devices.

"My office, in conjunction with the Department of Justice, has discussed with the Wyandotte Tribal counsel the legality of the Wyandotte Tribe engaging in gaming activities at that location," Melgren said in a statement. "I am pleased that the Wyandotte have reconsidered their earlier plans, and have agreed to remove these machines from the state."

Graves has refused to deal with the tribe, saying that it has no legal land claims in Kansas that have ever survived court challenges.