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Oklahoma reports jump in revenue from tribal casinos
By Roger McKinney
rmckinney@joplinglobe.com
State revenue from Oklahoma casinos rose 74 percent last fiscal year.
According to figures supplied by the Oklahoma Office of State Finance, Gaming Compliance, state revenue from tribal casinos came to $81.4 million in fiscal 2008, which ended June 30. That compared with $46.8 million the previous year.
Derek Campbell, gaming compliance head with the state agency, said there is one model compact with the tribes that run casinos, and it provides for 4 percent to 6 percent of revenues from electronic games to go to the state. Ten percent of revenue from table games goes to the state.
Campbell said he doesn’t think the number of gamblers has increased or that the visitors are spending more money.
“The biggest reason is they’ve put in a lot more compacted games,” Campbell said. “Mostly it’s just an increase in the number of games.”
Oklahoma figures include some from the Quapaw Tribe because it operates Quapaw Casino, but the tribe’s Downstream Casino Resort is not included in the numbers because it opened in July, after the start of fiscal 2009. The state’s fiscal year runs from July 1 through June 30.
Local tribes
The Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, which owns Bordertown Casino, provided the most money to the state among local tribes — a little more than $1 million. That’s more than double the $493,247 in revenue provided to the state one year earlier.
Allen Perry, marketing director for Bordertown, said an increased number of games may have contributed to the jump, but he attributes the revenue increase to other factors.
“We initiated a new marketing campaign last year,” Perry said. “Consequently, our gross revenues have increased.”
Asked if he is concerned about competition from Downstream Casino Resort, which opened July 5, Perry joked: “Where’s that?”
He said that while the Quapaw Tribe’s new casino will compete with the Eastern Shawnee Tribe’s casino, it also will lure visitors from outside the area who may visit Bordertown and other tribal casinos.
“They’re great competitors and great for business,” Perry said.
Downstream officials won’t release revenue figures, but they reported they had 109,000 visitors in the casino’s first full week after opening.
The Quapaw tribe also is building a 222-room, 12-story hotel at the Downstream site that is set for completion in early November.
In fiscal 2008, Oklahoma collected revenues totaling $765,443 from the Peoria Tribe, which owns Buffalo Run Casino in Miami and the Peoria Gaming Center in Peoria. That’s a 47 percent increase from $521,872 in fiscal 2007.
The Wyandotte Nation, which owns the Wyandotte Nation Casino in Wyandotte, provided $679,170 of its revenues to the state in fiscal 2008. Its casino opened in April 2007, near the end of that fiscal year, providing revenues to the state of $91,955.
The Seneca-Cayuga Tribe, which owns Grand Lake Casino near Grove, provided $493,093 in fiscal 2008.
The tribe is the only one whose revenues to the state decreased. The 2008 figure is down 5 percent from $518,483 in fiscal 2007, but Katie Birdsong, second chief, said business is up this summer.
The tribe also has proposed a $60 million casino on 33 acres of lakefront property in Grove, but no construction timetable or deadlines have been discussed, Birdsong said.
The Miami Tribe, which with the Modoc Tribe owns The Stables Casino in Miami, generated revenues of $390,859 in fiscal 2008, a 27 percent increase from $308,700 in fiscal 2007.
The Quapaw Tribe’s casino revenues to the state in fiscal 2008 totaled $282,869, a 67 percent increase from $169,598 in fiscal 2007.
The Ottawa Tribe generated revenues of $168,094 for the state in fiscal 2008, up 9 percent from $154,903 in the previous fiscal year. The tribe owns High Winds Casino in Miami.
The Chickasaw Nation generated the most casino revenue for Oklahoma in fiscal 2008, at $21.5 million. That’s a 72 percent increase from $12.5 million in the previous fiscal year. The tribe has 14 casino locations in the state.
Missouri casinos
Some of Missouri’s casinos also are going strong.
Figures from the Missouri Gaming Commission show that overall casino gambling revenue rose 7 percent in July to $146.9 million, up from $136.9 million in July 2007.
“Casinos were considered some time ago to be recession-proof,” Gene McNary, executive director of the Gaming Commission, said recently. “They’re not. But the casinos themselves are pretty strong.”
McNary said a large percentage of gamblers in Missouri are senior citizens on fixed incomes who set aside a certain percentage of money for entertainment — and gambling is that entertainment.
Overall, the four Missouri casinos in the St. Louis area saw admissions rise 21 percent and gross revenues rise 16 percent in July compared with figures from a year earlier.
In the Kansas City market, Ameristar remained the leader with revenue of $22.4 million, up 2 percent. Argosy saw a 6 percent gain, to $16.5 million, to move ahead of Harrah’s in North Kansas City, where revenue declined 7 percent, to $16.4 million. Isle of Capri in Kansas City saw a 1 percent decline, to $6.9 million.
Source: The Associated Press
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