The Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes in Oklahoma have reportedly abandoned plans to operate an online poker website providing services to players outside the United States, along with litigation launched against US federal government authorities in the Department of the Interior for blocking the plan, albeit with good intentions.
Presumably that means that the $9 million spent so far on the Poker Tribes.com project is to be written off.
Last year the tribes and the state government at the time reached a revenue sharing agreement that the Poker Tribes.com project to operate offshore internet poker operations could go ahead.
However, federal officials felt the tribe was not getting a good enough deal, triggering litigation against the feds launched by attorney Richard Grellner on behalf of the tribes (see previous reports).
Incoming Oklahoma governor Eddie Hamilton appears to have been the catalyst for the latest developments, according to local media reports, which indicate that he has been making changes regarding state executives involved in the agreement, including the former Attorney General, who has been replaced.