Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter has begun negotiating gambling compacts with more than two dozen of the state’s 35 tribal nations operating under the compacts.
The tribes believe the existing compacts will automatically renew at the end of the year if an agreement can’t be reached on new terms. Governor Kevin Stitt claims the 15-year compacts will expire at the end 2019; he wants to renegotiate the terms giving the state a larger share of casino revenue.
Hunter said the meeting with tribal leaders was “positive and constructive.” He said, “The way forward is to come up with a process that resolves the dispute, getting that resolved, getting it in a trajectory where it is no longer a barrier to looking at ways to modify the compact in a way that benefits the tribes and the state mutually and cooperatively.”
Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association Chairman Matthew Morgan said, “Nothing is more important to the tribes than resolving the automatic renewal, and we are committed to continued dialogue.”
The current gambling compacts require tribes to pay 4 percent to 10 percent of a casino’s net revenue in exchange for exclusive rights to operate casinos in the state. Last year, those fees generated about $139 million in payments to the state on roughly $2.3 billion in revenue from games covered under the compacts. Tribes operate 130 casinos throughout the state.
In other Oklahoma tribal casino news, Muscogee (Creek) Nation officials recently announced that the River Spirit Casino Resort in Tulsa received AAA’s prestigious Four Diamond Award, ranking it in the top 6 percent of all AAA-approved properties in North America.
Muscogee (Creek) Nation Casinos Chief Executive Officer Pat Crofts said, “To achieve this rating for the third consecutive year is a great compliment for our team. We received this rating within the first six months of opening in 2017, again in 2018 and this year even after having to close the hotel for a few weeks because of the historic flooding. This designation continues to recognize the significant investment made by the Muscogee (Creek) Nation in this hotel. And now, with this prestigious ranking from AAA for the third year in a row, we expect business to continue to grow at an exponential rate.”
According to AAA, the Four-Diamond rating means a venue is stylish with upscale physical attributes, extensive amenities and a high degree of hospitality, service and attention to detail.
River Spirit Casino Resort also leads U.S. News & World Report’s 2019 Best Tulsa and Best Oklahoma Resort rankings. The resort also was recognized as the most Uber’d destination in 2018 and listed by Oklahoma Magazine in 2018 as one of the top companies to work for.
