Freshman Sen. Ken Salazar (D-Colorado) was immediately skeptical of the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes' plan to open a casino in Pueblo, Colorado, The Denver Post reports.

Salazar attended a late August meeting with the backers of the casino but wasn't convinced the plan would work because it involved a land claim. "You gotta know: I'm skeptical about the land claims," he said at the meeting, according to his state director. As the state's former attorney general, Salazar researched the claim and didn't think it was valid anymore due to a 1965 settlement.

The Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes, currently based in Oklahoma, said they would give up a 27 million acres of their land in Colorado for a few acres and gaming rights. But tribal members voted on October 1 to kill the proposal.

An earlier plan involved a casino near the Denver airport but that was immediately opposed by Gov. Bill Owens (R), who said the tribes should take the issue to the voters.

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Casino loss has Pueblo up familiar creek (The Denver Post 11/28)