TAMA - Meskwaki Bingo-Casino-Hotel is now serving bottled beer on the casino floor and wine in its Prime Cut and Seafood House.

The move comes after members of the Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa voted in April to end a ban on the sale of alcohol on their settlement.

The casino plans to serve a full menu of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages in the near future, as it completes its lounge and permanent bars. The lounge is scheduled to be completed in December.

Alcohol will not be sold or allowed in the Poker Room or Bingo Hall, where patrons 18 and older are allowed to play.

The Meskwaki Tribe voted April 1 to approve the sale of alcohol in response to what it described as "ever-increasing competition" in the state.

The Meskwaki casino was the only one of Iowa's 20 gaming facilities that did not allow the sale of alcohol. Two in that group are casinos owned by Native Americans.

The sale of alcohol will be limited to the Meskwaki Bingo Casino Hotel and does not include any other tribal businesses on the Meskwaki Settlement.