MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Ernie “Big Cat” Stevens Jr., a driving force behind the expansion of Native American gaming for more than two decades, has died. He was 66.

The Indian Gaming Association, a Washington, D.C.-based group that works to protect tribes and promote tribal gaming, announced Monday that Stevens died Friday at the Oneida Nation in Wisconsin. His aunt, Bobbi Webster, confirmed his death in a telephone interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday.

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