POCASSET, Okla. – About a mile off a ribbon of state highway that drivers mainly use to avoid a nearby toll road, the Chickasaw Nation is leveling dirt for the Salt Creek Casino. A large swath has been cut to make room for this Grady County casino that marks the tribe’s 18th gaming site.
It looks like a typical gaming expansion but the site is located farther northwest than the 38,000-citizen tribe has ventured in Oklahoma. When complete, the facility will have 500 electronic games and six table games and is expected to create about 150 jobs.
Chickasaw Nation Enterprise (CNE) officials said the move to expand westward on the 190-acre plot had been in the works for about two years. Bill Lance, CEO of CNE, said that other factors played into the Chickasaws’ Salt Creek Casino location.
“Several Chickasaws have asked us to expand our operations into this area of the state,” Lance said. “After careful consideration we decided expansion into this area would enable us to offer more job opportunities and entertainment options that would benefit everyone concerned.”
While there is no real boundary marking the east side of Oklahoma from the west, Interstate 35 is regarded as a black top dividing line separating the state’s 38 federally recognized tribes in two broad categories. Pocasset marks one of the western-most boundaries on lands given to the tribe after relocation to Oklahoma from their homelands in Mississippi during the 1830s, officials said.
Prior to Pocasset, the tribe developed in decidedly eastern Oklahoma with casinos sitting as far south as their evergreen WinStar Casino in Thackerville, Okla., near the Texas border and skirting the metropolitan Oklahoma City area with their Riverwind Casino. The 37,000-sq. ft. Salt Creek development reflects the Chickasaw’s effort to solidify their presence within every direction of their original jurisdiction, officials said.
“This new enterprise will offer new entertainment options which could significantly increase tourism in the area,” said Chickasaw governor, Bill Anoatubby. “We are pleased to be part of the communities in Grady County and are happy about increasing that presence.”
Chickasaw officials point out that the tribe has run a senior nutrition site in nearby Chickasha for several years. They consider the new casino to be in investment for their tribal business portfolio, officials said.
The city of Pocasset is laying out the welcome mat for the tribe’s new gaming site. Christie Rainey, Pocasset’s mayor, said her small province (pop. 158), has a convenience store, truck bed manufacturer and an oilfield company division and that’s about it. She views Salt Creek as an opportunity, she said.
“This way, folks won’t have to drive,” the mayor said, referring to the casino’s two planned restaurants.”It offers opportunities to get employed and they pay for the skills training.”
The state’s Indian gaming behemoth continues to flex its economic muscles and not just on the home front. Chickasaw recently made bids to purchase two bankrupt casino properties in Louisiana and Mississippi through the tribe’s gaming arm, Global Gaming Solutions. Additionally, Global Gaming Solutions operates Remington Park, a non-Indian racetrack in Oklahoma City.
Grady County is on cue to be the tribe’s next locale for tribal gaming. The Salt Creek Casino will draw from an area market shared by tribal casinos owned by the Cheyenne & Arapaho Tribes, Western Delaware, Wichita and Affiliated Tribes, Kiowa, Comanche and Apache tribes.
Salt Creek Casino is expected to be finished in early December 2012, officials said.
Pocasset is roughly an hour drive southwest of Oklahoma City, 25 miles south from El Reno on state Highway 81.
Officials say the Chickasaw Nation’s Salt Creek Casino is expected to be finished in early December 2012. It will draw from an area market shared by tribal casinos owned by the Cheyenne & Arapaho Tribes, Western Delaware, Wichita and Affiliated Tribes, Kiowa, Comanche and Apache tribes.
Gina Yannarell | Koch Communications Photo