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November 9, 2009

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Tribe finalizes casino expansion

Monday, Sept. 9, 2002 | 11:19 a.m.

OGLALA, S.D. -- The Oglala Sioux Tribe plans to break ground this fall on an $18 million expansion of the Prairie Wind Casino, which is expected to bring jobs to an area suffering from high unemployment.

Tribal-council members approved the final design for the Prairie Wind Hotel/Casino Resort expansion project on Aug. 20. The five-phase project calls for a luxury hotel, movie theaters, restaurants, a convention center and other amenities.

"I think it will bring an impact to this reservation," said Frank Means, a Pine Ridge District tribal-council representative and chairman of the tribe's Economic & Business Development Committee. "The attitude here is skepticism. I think we can make people optimistic with this casino project."

Means estimates that the first phase of the project will bring in 109 new jobs to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, where unemployment is about 85 percent.

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