South Carolina Casino Floated by Sky Boat Gaming Developer Behind North Carolina Tribal Resort

Posted on: March 10, 2025, 08:54h. 

Last updated on: March 11, 2025, 06:58h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.
  • Wallace Cheves wants to build a casino in Santee
  • The South Carolina businessman was instrumental in a tribal casino in North Carolina
  • The odds are long that South Carolina will legalize casino gambling

A bid to legalize casino gambling in South Carolina and open the first resort in an Orangeburg County town in the Santee River Valley has been raised in the Columbia capital.

South Carolina casino Catawba Wallace Cheves
Construction on the permanent $700 million Two Kings Casino in North Carolina’s Kings Mountain begins in June 2024. The man who was instrumental in getting the Catawba tribe to construction in North Carolina is now seeking permission to build a commercial casino in South Carolina. (Image: Catawba Indian Nation)

Wallace Cheves, a well-known real estate developer in the Carolinas who has many close ties to state lawmakers in Columbia and Raleigh, has unveiled a $1 billion vision for a casino and resort in Santee on the grounds of the shuttered Santee Outlets. The former shopping complex is located just off Interstate 95.

Cheves says a casino destination will help revitalize Orangeburg County, where almost 22% of the population lives in poverty, and generate an estimated $8 billion economic impact on South Carolina’s economy over the first 10 years in operation.

Since 2002, the South Carolina Education Lottery has generated more than $8 billion to support education — an example of how regulated gaming can provide a lasting, positive impact on our state’s future,” Cheves said, as first reported by The Times and Democrat.

Cheves is pledging to fund the project without “a single dime of local or state” taxpayer money, including incentives or subsidies.

South Carolina Casino Odds

Local officials in Santee and neighboring Vance told The Times and Democrat that they will meet with Cheves this week to learn more about his aspirations. Statewide voters, however, would have the final say.

Legal gambling in South Carolina is currently limited to the state-run lottery. For that to change, a bill would have to clear the General Assembly.

House Bill 4176 seeks to do just that. Filed in December by Reps. Todd Rutherford (D-Richland) and Hamilton Grant (D-Richmond), the statute would legalize not only slot machines and live dealer table games but also sports betting and parimutuel wagering. HB4176 would allocate subsequent tax revenue from the new forms of gaming to local jurisdictions for highway, road, and bridge construction, maintenance, and repair.

The bill’s odds aren’t exactly strong, as the GOP-controlled legislature has repeatedly voted down gaming measures in the past. There’s been little action on HB4176, as the measure has sat idle with the House Judiciary Committee since mid-January.

Catawba’s Two Kings Project

The odds of South Carolina passing legislation to allow voters to determine the fate of Cheves’ Santee casino dreams likely improve help because of his involvement. Cheves’ public reputation is mixed in the Carolinas, as the Republican donor has faced legal issues in the past that resulted in millions in civil fines.

Among Cheves’ high-profile scandals is the Catawba Indian Nation’s years-long pursuit of a tribal casino in Kings Mountain. Cheves was instrumental in the tribe clearing hurdles in its quest to have land it acquired in 2018 deemed sovereign to allow for a Class III gaming facility.

Cheves’ Sky Boat Gaming, LLC, was to help finance and co-own the tribe’s $700 million casino to be called Two Kings. The National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) later raised concerns about the business arrangement between Sky Boat and the Catawba because it would primarily benefit Cheves, not the tribe.

The NIGC decision forced Cheves out of the project, with the tribe paying him an undisclosed separation fee. Eyebrows were raised when the small tribe agreed to purchase 9.7 acres of land controlled by Cheves surrounding the Two Kings project site for a staggering $40 million. The sale included two easement rights to the land also owned by Cheves.

Cheves later sued the tribe on allegations that its construction vehicles had violated the easement rights. He’s seeking financial damages in the ongoing lawsuit.