Q: Gambling halls and smoke-filled saloons with games of chance have been part of the Kansas landscape since our Wild West days. But the first official casino in Kansas didn’t open until May of 1996 on an Indian reservation in northeast Kansas. What’s the name of this casino?
A: Golden Eagle Casino (on the Kickapoo Reservation)
On May 18, 1996, the Golden Eagle Casino, the first casino in Kansas, opened on the Kickapoo Reservation. The reservation, located in Brown County in northeast Kansas, sits on more than 19,000 acres. The tribe itself is headquartered in Horton, Kan. The tribe is governed by the democratically-elected Kickapoo Tribal Council.
Fun factoid: Kickapoo comes from their word "Kiwigapawa," which roughly translates into "he moves from here to there."