Three Oklahoma tribal casinos have been affected by tornadoes in the past three years: Will Rogers Downs in Claremore in 2016, Riverwind in Norman in 2017 and Winstar in Thackerville in 2018. Officials at Chickasaw Nation, Cherokee Nation and other tribal casinos are taking precautions in case tornadoes strike this year.
Chickasaw Nation Department of Commerce Executive Director of Protective Services Dustin Newport stated, “During severe weather season, our staff closely monitors the weather. Our staff is extremely well-trained. We feel that it is our job to keep our patrons safe inside our facilities and we take that responsibility very seriously.”
Newport was at Riverwind Casino in Norman on the night of October 21, 2017. As the Beach Boys played a benefit concert to a sold-out crowd including then-Governor Mary Fallin, a tornado struck outside. Fallin said, “I looked up toward the balcony and there’s this huge flood of rain coming through the roof into the concert hall.” The water did not come from the storm but from the building’s fire suppression system, which was damaged when the tornado tore air conditioning units from the roof. No one was hurt but, Newport said, “The tornado touched down right over the facility before we could issue any warnings.”
He said the National Weather Service didn’t issue a tornado warning until 8:37 p.m., when the tornado hit. When possible, visitors are moved to refuge areas—the bathrooms. Though they do not meet the structural standards the Federal Emergency Management Agency requires for safe rooms and tornado shelters, “The refuge areas in the facility are safe areas that we’ve designated that do have several interior walls that separate them from the outside,” Newport said.
Cherokee Nation Business Director of Safety Joe Washum said, “We do training annually for our people, every shift, every department, not only about where to evacuate to, but how to help our guests evacuate to those locations.” Washum said at the Hard Rock Casino in Tulsa, when a tornado warning is issued, “security staff will meet with management and will make the decision to evacuate the facility, if our facility’s going to be in danger.”
Washum said if the decision is made to evacuate, alerts sound and “push teams” direct people to the refuge areas. “They tell the guests, ‘You need to cash out, it’s time to move.’ If they refuse–absolutely refuse–we don’t make them. We just go ahead and mark where they are, just in case.” He added all gaming machines will be shut down so visitors can’t continue to play. “We do everything we can to make it the right thing to do for them,” he said.
Washum added the Cherokee Nation has begun retro-fitting casinos and other tribal buildings with 18 FEMA-rated safe rooms.
In a statement, the Choctaw Nation said, “At Choctaw Casinos & Resorts, the safety and security of our guests and associates is our top priority. We have an emergency preparedness plan in place at each of our properties that includes severe weather activity.”
The Citizen Potawatomi Nation stated, “Our new conference center is fully ADA accessible, with entrances through the casino or separately on the west side parking area. It is about 10,000 square feet. It is FEMA compliant and would accommodate about 4,000 people in the event of severe weather.”
The Muscogee (Creek) Nation said, “Each Muscogee (Creek) Nation casino property and its management team has been trained in emergency preparedness in the event of a tornado or other large weather event. A comprehensive emergency management plan includes a section on tornadoes with specifics on notices, actions by each department and shelter areas at different stages of tornado watches and warnings. There are specified evacuation areas at each casino property along with evacuation routes where guests should remain during the storm. River Spirit Casino Resort has shelter areas in the lower levels of the facility specifically for emergencies such as a tornado, other severe weather similar incidents. The smaller properties were all constructed many years ago and do not have underground shelters.”
A Cheyenne & Arapaho Tribes statement noted the tribes “have contacts with all local emergency management teams throughout our 8-county area with which we coordinate action items during any emergency event. If one of our casinos receives a tornado warning, the security department makes an announcement for all guests to cash out their tickets and proceed to the nearest community storm shelter. In the event a tornado is observed on the ground within 50 miles via weather reports and is on track towards a casino, the evacuation process begins along with additional emergency procedures.”
The statement continued, “Lucky Star Casino properties have quarterly training on all emergency procedures, including weather, fire, active shooter/hostage situations, robbery, medical, hazardous chemicals, bomb threats and other emergency situations deemed necessary by the safety department. The Safety departments closely monitor severe weather events through various sources and in the event we have to clear the floor, we have an emergency shut-off for all gaming machines. We make every effort to alert our guests of impending severe weather and provide directions to the nearest community storm shelter. At our Concho location, a storm shelter is available to all tribal employees, tribal members and the local community in the event of severe weather.”
