Two Oklahoma Casinos Evacuated After Bomb Threats, No Explosives Found

Posted on: July 31, 2022, 10:37h. 

Last updated on: August 1, 2022, 11:34h.

Ed Silverstein @casinoorgedsilv Read More

Expertise: Legal, Tribal Gaming.

Indigo Sky Casino and Resort was evacuated twice on Saturday — once in the morning, and much longer in the evening — after bomb threats were made to the Oklahoma gaming complex, according to a local news report.

A second casino nearby was also evacuated. No bombs or explosives were found in either location.

In the longer evacuation, guests were told to leave the Indigo Sky Casino complex at about 7 pm and could not return to the venue for 13 hours. They were forced to leave the grounds outside of the casino for several hours while a search took place. They were kept away from the neighboring hotel for six hours.

The second bomb threat was contained in a note discovered in a casino restroom at about 6:30 pm Saturday.

The note seemed to be pretty threatening and specific, stating there was indeed a bomb located on the property somewhere, though it did not say where that location was,” Melanie Heskett, general manager of Indigo Sky Casino and Resort, revealed to KSN, a local TV station.

That prompted the Wyandotte, Okla. casino to clear out guests and employees from the gaming property and neighboring hotel.

The hotel reopened at about 1 am Sunday. The casino was to have reopened at about 8 am Sunday.

The Eastern Shawnee Tribal Police Department, Oklahoma Highway Patrol (OHP) Bomb Squad, Tulsa Police Department, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs took part in the search. Specially trained bomb-sniffing dogs from the TPD and OHP searched the entire complex for several hours, KSN said.

No arrests were made.

Forced to Leave

One casino visitor, Hugh Smith of Springdale, Ark., told KSN that at about 7 pm, someone came into the casino’s bar and grill. Restaurant guests were ordered to leave.

We left our food and everything,” Smith recalled. “The workers were yelling at people to run and there was no time to wait on anyone or cash out.”

Tanya Stone, of Anderson, Okla., also recounted to KSN the ordeal.

An hour and a half later, security came out and told everyone to go to the grass and get far away from the building,” Stone said. Four hours after that, security guards told guests to leave the property, she said. “They offered to shuttle people to Riverbend [Casino] for the night.”

Several of the evacuees did not have medications, car keys, or money with them, Stone said. Late Saturday night, guests were told they could return to the Indigo Sky Casino’s hotel.

Starting on Sunday morning, patrons could return to collect any personal items, casino chips, winnings, and slot machine tickets.

Earlier Evacuation

Twelve hours earlier on Saturday, at about 6:30 am, an initial evacuation occurred at Indigo Sky Casino after a “possible threat,” KSN said, quoting officials. Two hours later, employees and patrons were allowed back into the casino. Details on that threat were not immediately available.

The Outpost Casino, also located in Wyandotte, Okla., was also evacuated and searched on Saturday evening. The move was precautionary, KSN added.

Indigo Sky Casino and Resort and Outpost Casino are both owned and operated by the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma. The casinos are about 91 miles northeast of Tulsa, Okla.