Tribe pitches its own casino in southern part of state

Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2004 | 8:56 a.m.

LAS CRUCES, N.M. -- Jemez Pueblo may have competition in its push to build a casino in southern New Mexico as an Oklahoma Indian tribe eyes its own casino project in the area.

Fort Sill Apache tribal chairman Jeff Houser said he still intends to pursue a New Mexico casino near El Paso, Texas, after members of his tribe voted last year to explore it.

The northern New Mexico Jemez Pueblo and Santa Fe businessman Gerald Peters are proposing an off-reservation $55 million casino in Anthony. The project would need approval from the U.S. Interior Department and Gov. Bill Richardson because it would be a tribal casino built off Jemez tribal land.

The Apache ancestral homeland includes a large swath of southern New Mexico, and Houser said his tribe may object to the federal government about the Jemez project.

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