Naskila Entertainment, owned by the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas, opened in on the tribe’s 10-000 acre reservation in Livingston in mid-May. The alcohol-free venue offers 365 electronic bingo machines. Tribal spokesperson Carlos Bullock said, “This was a long time coming. We definitely are happy with the outcome and how things are going. It was a long fight to open the doors.”
The facility is attracting an increasing number of visitors, Bullock said. “Most of the people are in our area and region. That’s what we are focused on right now because of space and machine availability. We are beginning to reach out into local regions and we have started doing promotions. We are doing mail-outs that just started in the last few weeks, reaching out to local regions,” he said.
Bullock added, “Some people are, of course, going to go across state lines to the big casino resorts. We are limited to what we can offer right now, but we like the impact it has had on the region.” The casino also has had an impact on the tribe, which Bullock called “pretty phenomenal. I think we are over 210 jobs and 45 percent of those have gone to tribal members.”
The 15,000 square foot Naskila also offers the Timbers Grille restaurant. The gaming floor features smoking and non-smoking areas. Most of the games are 5-cents or 10-cents, and a high-roller area has $2 and $5 machines. Live music is offered on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Promotions range from free six-packs of Coke to a new boat or $20,000.
But the future of Naskila is uncertain. Texas state attorneys have filed lawsuits to close the venue, questioning if an Indian tribe may legally operate a gaming center on reservation land in Texas, where electronic bingo games are prohibited. But the Alabama-Coushatta tribe has said last year’s ruling by the Bureau of Indian Affairs provides the legal basis to offer Class II gaming under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act
An exception is the Kickapoo Tribe’s Lucky Eagle Casino in Eagle Pass, which opened in 1996. That tribe was federally recognized prior to the passage of a Texas law requiring Indian tribes to abide by what’s legal for the rest of the state. Because the Alabama-Coushatta and Tigua tribes gained federal recognition later, they had to follow different rules than the Kickapoos. However, Texas later expanded gaming beyond charitable bingo to allow a lottery and parimutuel gambling. At that time the Alabama-Coushatta and Tigua tribes pushed opened gaming facilities that ultimately were shut down by the state in 2002.
Ever since, the two tribes have worked to reopen their gaming facilities, especially since the Chickasaw Nation’s WinStar World Casino and Resort in Oklahoma and other tribal casinos have opened and flourished. The Texas state attorney general has not commented yet on Naskila Entertainment. Meanwhile, the case has been referred to U.S. Magistrate Judge Keith F. Giblin. A non-jury trial may be scheduled soon.
