Share 
Public comment is now available on an environmental report for a proposed Osage Nation casino project.
It’s the latest development in the ongoing saga involving the Native American tribe’s ambitions to build a casino in the city of Lake Ozark.
The plan calls for a 15-story hotel, a fitness center, pool, restaurants, and a 40,000-square-foot gaming floor with 750 slot machines. The Draft Environmental Assessment says it will be a Class II gaming facility, which would allow Osage Nation to bypass state authorization and deal exclusively with federal oversight.
It would be located on a plot of land owned by the tribe, at Osage Beach Parkway and Bagnell Dam Boulevard, between Lake Ozark and the Osage River, but not bordering either shore.
The plan also calls for more than 450 jobs to be created as a result of the project, which would take an estimated 12 to 18 months to build.
Voters rejected a similar plan
Last November, voters considered Amendment 5, which would have allowed a commercial casino plan to move forward, contingent on a gambling boat license for a location on the Osage River. However, that ballot measure was rejected by 52.5% of voters.
The controversy with the tribe has encompassed three principles for the last several years: Osage Nation, which would like to build a casino without any competition in Lake Ozark; Missouri state Sen. Justin Brown, who had a 2023 proposal before the Missouri General Assembly to allow a commercial casino to be developed in Lake Ozark; and some residents who don’t want to see a casino built regardless of who is operating it.
Not all residents are opposed, however. A KOLR-TV report on the plans included a comment from Merlyn Vandervort, owner of the Encore Lakeside Grill and Bar, which could benefit from increased tourism a casino would bring.
“I do think it will draw more people to the lake, which I think is good. I’ve met the people of the tribe and I think they’re good people.”
Written comments on the assessment are due by Sept. 2, addressed to: Regional Director, BIA, EORO, P.O. Box 8002, Muskogee, OK 74402-8002 or submitted via email to [email protected].
