Casino Expansions in Oklahoma Underway to Accommodate Demand

Casino Business is booming in Oklahoma to the delight of Oklahomans. The advent of casinos in the state has been equated to a better way of living for local citizens.

The casino growth in the state is showing no signs of slowing down. The Cherokees have casinos at Catoosa, West Siloam Springs, Fort Gibson, Tahlequah, Roland and Claremore. They will open a casino in Sallisaw. They also own three hotels, two golf courses, three service stations and several gift shops.

The Cherokee Nation has grown from 500 casino employees in 2004 to approximately 2,800 today. The annual payroll has grown from $39.5 million to $69 million.

The Creek Nation has casinos at Muskogee, Eufaula, Checotah, Okmulgee, Bristow, Okemah, Duck Creek and Tulsa.

The Muskogee (Creek) casino has plans of expansion next year to make room for more tables and machines. Eventually, there could be a hotel built at the Muskogee site, Farrell Kaaihue Manager of the Creek Nation Casino said.

The hotel operation at the Catoosa casino has been hugely successful, Mike Miller spokesman for Cherokee Nation Enterprises said. It is packed with guests all week.

"The demand is exceeding our supply," he said.

According to them, during the week, most of the guests come in for conventions and other group meetings. On weekends, the guests are mostly visitors.

There is a need for more rooms and larger conference rooms to accommodate larger conferences and convention in Catoosa.

"We own a lot of land where we are. We have a lot of parking lots and some fields. We haven't nailed down yet how we are going to meet that demand," Miller said.

According to him, a decision on expansion should come within the next year.

With the booming of the casino industry came also the boom in the way of life for a lot of Oklahomans. Aside from good wages, the full time employees now have health insurance. Health benefit is something that workers from the smaller communities mostly have never had.

"It's quite a substantial jump in quality of life for those people," Miller said.

But the people reaping the rewards are not only those who are directly employed by the casinos. With the growing traffic of people in the communities also come the opportunities for other businesses to thrive. Gas stations, diners, hotels, gift shops and other businesses are also benefiting from the casino industry whether directly or indirectly.

"We just opened a new $17 million health clinic in Coweta. A substantial amount of that funding came from our gaming revenues," said Nelson Johnson, Muscogee (Creek) Nation gaming commissioner.