Business as usual at state’s casinos
OKLAHOMA CITY — Class III gaming continued into 2020 as three of the state’s largest tribes filed a federal lawsuit New Year’s Eve.
On Tuesday morning, the Cherokee, Chickasaw and Choctaw nations filed suit against Gov. Kevin Stitt in the Western District of Oklahoma, asking for a declaratory judgment that the state-tribal model gaming compact automatically be renewed on New Year’s Day. Seeking higher exclusivity fees from the 30-plus gaming tribes across Oklahoma, Gov. Stitt has publicly maintained that the compacts expired on New Year’s Eve and that any Class III gaming conducted after that date, such as craps and roulette, is illegal. How- ever, tribal casinos across the state conducted business as usual on New Year’s Day. After the lawsuit was filed, Gov. Stitt’s office announced that it had signed gaming compact extensions with the Wetumka-based Kialegee Tribal Town and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, which is headquartered in Tahlequah. Neither tribe currently operates a casino. As of Thursday morning, Judge Timothy DeGuisti has not scheduled any court dates in the tribes’ lawsuit.