Inside Straight: As slot machines rattle 24/7, details emerge on key influences who cleared the way for North Carolina's new casino.

• Author: Martin, Edward

Most who come to the granite boulders of Crowders Mountains Pinnacle Peak in Gaston County risk nothing greater than blisters hiking its rocky trails. Others gamble more, rappelling or free-climbing its precipitous cliffs.

Within sight of the cliffs, just beyond Interstate 85 on the outskirts of Kings Mountain, Jason Brewer is playing for lower stakes. Inside the windowless, warehouse-like building, 1,000 slot machines entice casino visitors. He concentrates and spins.

Mega Spin stops on what players call an upgrade. "That's $1,000," Brewer says, sliding to the edge of his seat. He spins again and takes a deep breath.

"Another!" he exclaims as symbols on the screen align. Then another. "A jackpot!"

With as little drama as a grocery-store checkout, the machine spits out a paper ticket. Brewer hands it to a cashier and heads home to Winston-Salem with $2,037 in pocket. And an IRS Form 1099-MISC. "For taxes," he laughs. "I paid 'em."

Officially opened in July 2021, Catawba Two Kings Casino has slated $273 million for a two-story permanent casino, 29-floor hotel, restaurants and other trimmings. Last winter, it doubled the playing floor to about 30,000 square feet. In September, it added sportsbook betting with 30 kiosks.

For gamblers like Brewer, who returns with his family monthly, it's an unbridled success. "I do wish they'd get a little more upbeat music," he says.

The 3,700-member Catawba tribe is staking much of its future on this casino, which expects to eventually have 5,000 slot machines. "We can improve health care, housing, education, scholarships, workforce opportunities," says Elizabeth Harris, the tribal administrator.

But 15 months after the casino's debut, it's clear that Lady Luck had little to do with its development. Rather, its path was paved by the support of prominent Carolinas and U.S. politicians, various business figures and the persistence of Wallace Cheves, the main outside developer.

Now, because many of those affiliated parties do not have Native American genes, construction of a permanent casino has stalled, pending a probe by the National Indian Gaming Commission.

"The truth is now coming out," says Richard Sneed, perhaps the casino's biggest critic. The former U.S. Marine is the elected chief of the 14,000-member Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, which operates two casinos in western North Carolina. The Cherokees tried for years through lawsuits, Congressional testimony and political contributions to block a Catawba casino in South Carolina, where gambling is barred. Instead, the tribe went across the state line, where it didn't hold reservation property.

"This is all about political dealings and backroom deals. It's all out there now," Sneed says.

Cheves bristles at such descriptions. The Catawbas "stood little or no chance of realizing their dream" of a casino without the expertise of his...