Tribal casinos luring Arkansans

Hotels, restaurants pay off for Oklahoma businesses


Holley Garrett, dealer at Cherokee Casino and Hotel, at the three card poker table Monday, Feb. 25, 2013 at the casino in West Siloam Springs, Okla. The casino has a number of machines, tables, poker room and off track betting room.
Holley Garrett, dealer at Cherokee Casino and Hotel, at the three card poker table Monday, Feb. 25, 2013 at the casino in West Siloam Springs, Okla. The casino has a number of machines, tables, poker room and off track betting room.

— Rising revenue at American Indian-owned gambling operations shows investments in amenities like hotels and restaurants by tribal casinos in Oklahoma, including those along the Arkansas border, seem to be paying off, according to a study being released today.

Oklahoma ranked second in total gambling revenue from tribal gambling facilities with $3.5 billion, following California with $6.9 billion, according to Casino City’s Indian Gaming Industry Report.

The two states combined generate 38 percent of gambling revenue for all U.S. tribes. However, the report said Oklahoma ranked fifth in the nation for revenue growth with a 7.7 percent increase.

Nationwide, tribal gambling revenue grew by a bit more than 3 percent, an increase of $900 million to $27.4 billion.

“As in previous years, many Native American tribes continued to invest in their gaming operations by remodeling,upgrading, and expanding in 2011, particularly with respect to non-gaming amenities,” wrote Alan Meister, an economist with Nathan Associates Inc. based in Irvine, Calif., and the report’s author. “Generally speaking, this has improved quality and increased the breadth and depth of Indian gaming facilities.”

In the past several years, four eastern Oklahoma tribes have been upgrading their casino offerings, adding hotels, spas, restaurants and updat-ing casino floors to help draw customers from Arkansas and other states.

While exact employment figures are unavailable, many of these casino upgrades and expansions created jobs that are filled by workers from Arkansas.

For example, Choctaw Casino Hotel hired 52 employees when it opened its new gambling floor in December and officials said it will add 300 jobs after its new hotel opens in May. When both are complete, the total number of employees should be more than 850. A casino spokesman said Tuesday about 44 percent of the operation’s employees come from Arkansas.

Kermit Kuehn, director of the Center for Business Research and Economic Development at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith, said the casinos along the Arkansas border must stay current or ahead of industry trends to remain competitive.

“It’s about staying relevant,” he said. “Nothing is static in the casino business.”

Kuehn added that, since Arkansas now has a lottery, the tribes operating gambling facilities along the border need amenities to attract a finite amount of gambling dollars from the state.

Kat Robinson, communications manager for the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism, said the casino operations on the border haven’t been a significant competitor for Arkansas tourist dollars in recent years but they might be an issue in the future.

Arkansas does not have any tribal-owned gambling within its borders but betting is allowed on greyhound races at Southland Park in Memphis and thoroughbred horse races in Hot Springs at Oaklawn Park. State law does allow gambling on electronic devices at the tracks that are similar to those offered at out-of-state casinos.

Arkansas neighbors Mississippi, Louisiana and Missouri allow casino commercial gambling. The Indian Gaming Industry Report said that In 2011, Mississippi had $2.24 billion in annual gambling revenue, a decrease of 6.3 percent; Louisiana had $1.98 billion, down less than 1 percent; and Missouri had $1.8 billion, a gain of 1 percent.

In an interview, Meister said the upgrading of facilities along the Oklahoma-Arkansas border makes them viable in a highly competitive casino market and allows them to draw from adjacent states that don’t have casino operations.

The Eastern Shawnee of Oklahoma run the Indigo Sky Casino in Wyandotte; the Cherokee Nation operates the Cherokee Casino in West Siloam Springs; the Quapaw Nation operates the Downstream Casino Resort in Quapaw, which opened a 152-room hotel expansion in late December; and the Choctaw Nation is adding a hotel to its recently renovated casino in Pocola, near Fort Smith, that’s expected toopen in May.

Nongambling revenue at tribal casinos nationally was up nearly 5 percent to approximately $3.3 billion in 2011 after having declined the two previous years. Oklahoma’s tribal casinos saw nongambling revenue rise to $493.4 million, a nearly 8 percent increase when compared with 2010. Nongambling revenue for the state has grown since 2009.

With 115 gambling facilities, Oklahoma had the most in the U.S. in 2011, an increase of two compared with 2010. Many of these locations are small and situated in travel centers, gas stations and convenience stores.

John Ervin, assistant general manager for the Indigo Sky Casino in Wyandotte, said the casino hotel’s location near the Arkansas border allows it to pull customers from out of state. The $87 million hotel casino opened in September and has 117 rooms, 19 suites and employs 640.

“The hotel helped us to extend our reach,” he said.

Business, Pages 28 on 02/27/2013

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