Tribe planning Oklahoma's largest casino

ASSOCIATED PRESS

GOLDSBY, Okla. -- The Chickasaw Nation plans to build Oklahoma's largest casino, a structure in excess of 200,000 square feet that will rival casinos on the Las Vegas Strip.

The Riverwind Casino is planned for a site along Interstate 35 and Oklahoma 9 about one mile from the Norman city limits. It is scheduled to open next spring.

The casino's size will surpass even the massive WinStar Casino on Interstate 35 near the Texas border. The 190,000-square-foot WinStar, also owned by the Chickasaws, is scheduled to be expanded to 300,000 square feet, tribal legislator Wilson Seawright said.

Winstar's gaming floor takes up 169,824 square feet, according to the tribe's Web site. By comparison, Caesars Palace and the MGM Grand in Las Vegas have 129,000 and 171,500 square feet of gaming floor, respectively.

Tribal spokeswoman Robyn Elliott would not disclose how much gaming space Riverwind will have.

The Chickasaw Nation already has Oklahoma's largest gaming operation. The tribe operates gaming machines at 11 casinos and six convenience stores in southern Oklahoma.

Gamblers deposited nearly $4.3 billion into tribal gaming machines during the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, according to the most recent tribal audit. Almost $4 billion, or 93.6 percent, of the gross receipts was paid to winners and $102.7 million went to suppliers, the audit states.

The tribe netted $132.4 million from gambling. Auditors reported that the Chickasaw's other businesses lost nearly $15.3 million. The previous year, the tribe grossed $2 billion and netted $62.6 million from gambling.

Federal law requires that the money be spent for tribal government and programs, the general welfare of the tribe and its members, economic development, donations to charity and helping local governments.

The increase in gaming revenue occurred before the introduction of card games and more lucrative electronic machines authorized by voters in November. Shortly after the election, tribal leaders announced plans to spend $260 million on casinos and tourism projects.