The Quapaw Indian Tribe announced this week its intentions to build a hotel and casino in Oklahoma, close to Kansas and Missouri. The Quapaw’s Downstream Casino Resort will cost $200 million and will include a 240-room hotel, a casino, several restaurants, shops and a 10,000-square-foot convention room.

According to John Berrey, chairman of the Quapaw Tribe, the resort will generate about 1,200 direct jobs. “This is something the Quapaws have wanted to do for a long time, because we knew the three-states property was ideal for an upscale resort, and it would be huge for the region’s economy,” Berrey said.

The 70,000-square-foot casino will feature 2,000 slot machines, 30 table games and 15 poker tables and is expected to attract 2 million visitors a year. “Our resort will be unlike anything in the region,” chairman Berrey explained. “It will be a destination resort that attracts tourist dollars from outside of the region.”

The construction of the casino will start this week and it will open on July 4, 2008. The 14-luxury hotel will open 90 days later.