Santee Sioux tribe ready to cut ribbon on new Ohiya Casino

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By Jacob Peklo, Multimedia Journalist - email

Casino Ohiya will hold its grand opening Friday.

NEAR NIOBRARA, Neb. (KTIV) -

Open for about two weeks, the Santee Sioux tribe's Ohiya Casino has its grand opening Friday.

The casino had grown from a small operation—with just seven employees and 30 games in 1996, to about 40 workers with 200 games in 2011.

They needed more space. Now, they have it. In November of 2011, tribal officials broke ground on a new 61,000 square foot facility. They've spent the last month moving in.

Because of legal battles, at the state and national levels, tribal officials wondered if they'd ever see this moment. It's an emotional time for everyone involved..

"So, when we opened up these doors and opened up our grand entry Friday at 1 o'clock, it's going to be an emotional scene because of the struggles that we had to go through as a tribe," said Rick Thomas, tribal historic preservation officer for Santee Sioux Nation.

Tonight, on "News 4 at Ten," we'll bring more details of the casino's expansion, and how it's creating jobs for tribes members and the community.

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Santee Sioux tribe ready to cut ribbon on new Ohiya Casino - KTIV News 4 Sioux City IA: News, Weather and Sports

Santee Sioux tribe ready to cut ribbon on new Ohiya Casino

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