Indian tribal gambling in the state of Colorado has been undergoing several changes, including possible legislation to would take power away from the Federal government's casino regulation policies, as well as giving the Southern Ute Tribe permission to construct two new casinos on reservation land.

After receiving approval to do so, the Division of Gaming reported the tribe would, in fact, be constructing two new casinos on designated areas.  However, the Ute Tribe has denied these claim, citing that the Division of Gaming left the decision solely up to the tribe, who has sovereign authority to operate a casino or not.

According to the General Manager of the tribes existing Sky Ute Casino, tribe officials have not even begun to do the necessary research that would statistically show whether even building a casino would be an economically sound decision.  Whether or not the tribe further discussed the issue is not known, for the Southern Ute are highly protective of their council meetings and rarely publicly discuss topics that were talked about in these meetings.

Don Burmania, Spokesperson for Colorado's Division of Gaming, spoke on the contrary, and specifically revealed that the tribe would be building a larger and more luxurious casino on Hwy 172 - just north of Ignacio.  He even went on to say that it would house a conference center and that the second property in question would consist of a slot parlor in the vicinity of Lake Capote.

Reason for the contradicting reports remains remain unknown, although some state gaming officials think it is perhaps because the tribe must get a wider consensus and approval before definitively committing to any proposals, and that the Division of Gaming might have been a bit hopeful and got excited about the possibility of specific prospects.

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