BRAMAN, Okla. (AP) -- An official with the Kaw Nation's development agency says a new casino just south of the Oklahoma-Kansas border is close to winning approval.

Marketing director Nancy Walton with the Kaw Enterprise Development Authority says the Bureau of Indian Affairs appears to be in the final stage of approving the plans. She says she's optimistic the casino will become a reality.

The proposal has already won approval from Kay County officials, neighboring Indian tribes and the mayor of nearby Braman.

The tribe is proposing the facility on just more than 21 acres at the intersection of Interstate 35 and U.S. 177 about five miles south of the Kansas state line. Walton says the tribe hopes to build a 36,000 square-foot casino employing 200 to 250 persons.