The total economic benefit of Naskila Casino, an electronic bingo venue owned by the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas, pumped $212 million into the Polk County economy in 2022, according to a new report commissioned by the Texas Forest Country Partnership (TFCP).
Operating on the tribe’s reservation near Livingston, Naskila employs 825 workers, including 400 at the casino, with a total payroll of $22.5 million.
The study said, “This economic impact and these jobs would simply not exist without Naskila. Because 95 percent of Naskila’s customers come from outside of Polk County, and more than 80 percent come from outside the region, Naskila is an economic engine that benefits every stakeholder in the region.”
The study, the third commissioned by the TFCP, indicated Naskila’s economic activity rose from $140 million in 2018 and $170 million in 2020 to $212 million in 2023. Jobs grew from 550 to 700 to 825 in the same period.
Naskila Casino is the second-largest employer in Polk County, the study found, offering employees an average salary and benefits package of $50,000.
Ricky Sylestine, chairman of the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas tribal council, said, “We are grateful that our guests, our employees and our neighbors in Deep East Texas have allowed the impact of Naskila Casino to continue to grow. This facility helps sustain our tribe and our region.”
Revenue from Naskila provides funding for scholarships, housing, a health clinic, day care center and retail shops.
More than half of the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe’s 1,400 members live on its 10,200-acre reservation, the oldest in Texas. Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the tribe’s right to offer electronic bingo after a long legal battle between the tribe and the state of Texas. The tribe continues to work with the U.S. Congress to support legislation that would put it under the jurisdiction of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act like hundreds of other tribes across the country, including the Kickapoo Tribe based in Eagle Pass.
