RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians won state approval Wednesday to offer live poker and other table games at its tribal casino in western North Carolina, a change that will create hundreds of jobs and pump new revenue into school districts.

Democratic Gov. Beverly Perdue on Wednesday signed into law a gambling bill that will allow the Cherokees to implement a separate compact their leaders reached with Perdue more than six months ago. The bill-signing ceremony with Cherokee leaders and mountain legislators at the old Capitol building came about an hour after the Senate gave final approval to the measure.

Perdue and legislative backers touted the expansion as one that would bring 400 well-paying jobs to the Harrah’s casino in Jackson County while bringing North Carolina an estimated $60 million to $90 million for public schools over the course of the 30-year agreement. The 15,000-member tribe also could build two new casinos on tribal lands in five western counties. The casino now employs 2,000.

“It’s a deal that I think puts money in the classroom of North Carolina for our kids,” Perdue said after the ceremony. “It helps us get 400 new jobs in the west. And the derivatives from the economic development activities from the tribe will be remarkable to us. I’m happy with the deal.”

Tribal chief Michell Hicks said he doesn’t anticipate any problems with the final hurdle – the U.S. Department of the Interior must sign off on the compact – and hopes to have the first live dealer games in place for July 4, which he calls the casino’s biggest holiday. The tribe’s goal is to implement most of the contract within 90 days, Hicks said.

The Cherokees have been seeking the ability to offer live games – a key element to keeping up with similar casinos – nearly since the casino first opened in 1997. The casino is located in Cherokee, about 60 miles west of Asheville.

Until now, the casino only has been able to offer electronic forms of the games. Hicks said the tribe has used casino profits for improving education, health care and housing for its people and for helping the entire region.

“We assure you going forward and we assure the Legislature that the Eastern Band will continue to be good stewards,” Hicks said. He anticipates the additional games will provide a “nice increase” to the $8,000 that each Cherokee member receives as a share of profits.

The Republican-led Legislature, while having no formal role in the compact negotiations, had to change separate state gambling laws to permit the new games. Hicks, other tribal leaders and their lobbyists worked with legislative leaders to iron out problems, primarily addressing constitutional concerns.

Hicks and Perdue signed an amended agreement to the compact two weeks ago to ease the concerns of some legislators.

Perdue praised legislators for working out the details in a bipartisan manner. But support for gambling measures has never fallen along partisan lines in the North Carolina Legislature.

A coalition of social conservatives and liberal Democrats opposed to gambling fell short against a majority that saw the gambling expansion as an economic development tool and tourism boost.

“The moral issue’s already passed with gambling in Cherokee because they’re already doing it,” said Sen. Tom Apodaca, R-Henderson, a key negotiator on the live gambling bill.

Bill Brooks, of the North Carolina Family Policy Council, said the expansion of gambling in North Carolina has been done in the name of seeking money from people who can least afford to play the games.

“The casino will attract more gamblers and more gamblers will produce more addiction, more gambling addiction, which will hurt the individuals as well as their families, Brooks said.

The compact gives the tribe exclusive rights for live table gambling west of Interstate 26, which runs through Asheville. The state will receive 4 percent of gross receipts from the games in the first five years, with the percentage rising over time to 8 percent in the compact’s final 10 years.

Hicks said at the bill-signing ceremony that he understands some legislators have concerns about the gambling business. But he said the tribe has proven for years that it’s done the right thing with the authority it has to offer gambling.

“It’s been a long trip for us,” Hicks said. “I don’t think any of us realize what the impact is going to be in North Carolina.”