GUYMON, Okla. – Blackjack tables and slot machines may be coming soon to the Oklahoma Panhandle.
On Tuesday, officials with the Shawnee Tribe, based in Miami, Oklahoma, announced plans to build the 60,000-square foot Golden Mesa Casino two miles south of Guymon, Oklahoma, on a 107 acre property off of Oklahoma Highway 54. Construction is slated to begin in 2016 and create about 175 jobs.
"The new center will position Guymon and the entire Oklahoma Panhandle as an entertainment and tourist destination point, attracting visitors from Texas, Kansas, New Mexico and Colorado," Shawnee Chief Ron Sparkman said. “In addition to the inflow of money to the area from out-of-state visitors, the center is projected to create 175 new jobs with a total annual payroll of $3.7 million, which will boost the local economy and benefit existing retail, hospitality and restaurant businesses."
The Shawnee Tribe, whose federal recognition was restored in December 2000 through an act of Congress, is headquartered more than 400 miles away from the proposed casino site. Tribal officials have not said how the property will be taken into trust.
The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act allows tribes to take land into trust for gaming purposes if it meets both steps of a two-part determination, as was the case in 2014 for the Kaw Nation’s casino in Braman, Oklahoma.
Under the terms of the tribe’s federal recognition restoration, land in trust applications from the Shawnees could potentially qualify for an IGRA exemption. A similar attempt by the Shawnee Tribe in 2010 in order to open a $400 million casino in Oklahoma City was rejected by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Currently, the closest casino of any kind to the western Oklahoma community is more than two hours away in Boot Hill, Kansas. The closest tribally-operated gaming facility is a Cheyenne and Arapaho property three hours away in Canton, Oklahoma.
