The Oneida Indian Nation has announced plans to open a $20 million casino with a "Wizard of Oz" theme in the village where Oz author L. Frank Baum was born.
Ray Halbritter, chief executive officer of the Oneida Nation, tells the Syracuse Post-Standard (http://bit.ly/1wSda3w ) the casino will open in the spring in Chittenango, 14 miles east of Syracuse.
The Oneidas announced plans for the Yellow Brick Road Casino four days after a state panel recommended licensing three non-Indian casinos, including one 42 miles west of Syracuse.
Halbritter said because the Chittenango casino is on Oneida reservation land, no permission is needed from federal, state or local governments.
A 2013 state gaming compact gave the Oneidas exclusive rights to gaming activity in a 10-county area surrounding its Turning Stone Casino in Verona.
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