As the economy was starting to wind down in Wyoming in the face of coronavirus closures, the Northern Arapaho Business Council found that tribal accounts were $181,075 in the red, requiring funding to be redirected from the tribe’s Wind River Hotel & Casino (WRC).
It was necessary to take the money from a $600,000 fund that the tribe had set aside to buy a gasoline business. The Gillette News Ranger obtained a copy of a letter from the tribe’s chief financial officer, Ryan Ortiz, to the business council that was sent shortly before the casino closed as a protective measure against the spread of the coronavirus.
Ortiz wrote, “As we all know, the WRC has put aside $600,000 to purchase a gasoline business. With a huge reduction of cash flows, I suggest that the WRC send that to us for use as needed during this situation.”
The balance could be used to pay bills during the shutdown, he suggested.
The downturn locally is exaggerated by the decline in oil prices, which affects the tribe in oil-rich Wyoming.
