{"id":183162,"date":"2021-08-18T01:10:33","date_gmt":"2021-08-18T08:10:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=183162"},"modified":"2021-08-18T08:26:17","modified_gmt":"2021-08-18T15:26:17","slug":"600m-oklahoma-tribal-casino-expansion-targets-texas-gamblers-experts-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/600m-oklahoma-tribal-casino-expansion-targets-texas-gamblers-experts-say\/","title":{"rendered":"$600M Oklahoma Tribal Casino Expansion Targets Texas Gamblers, Experts Say"},"content":{"rendered":"

Oklahoma\u2019s Choctaw Casino & Resort opened its $600M hotel and gaming floor addition earlier this month. It is seen as an added way to draw players from nearby North Texas.<\/p>\n

\"Improvements
Oklahoma\u2019s Choctaw Casino & Resort, pictured above. A new addition targets players from North Texas. (Image: KTRK<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Durant, Okla. gaming property is approximately 14 miles from the border with Texas. It is some 88 miles to Dallas.<\/p>\n

Improvements include a 1,000-room, 21-story hotel, more gambling options, and additional restaurants. There is also a collection of Choctaw art.<\/p>\n

Texans account for the vast majority of gambling activity in Oklahoma,\u201d Clyde Barrow, chairman of the political science department at the University of Texas – Rio Grande Valley, told Casino.org<\/em>. He estimates Texans are probably spending $2.5 billion to $3.0 billion per year at Oklahoma casinos.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cThis is no surprise at all,\u201d Mark P. Jones, a political science fellow at Rice University\u2019s Baker Institute, told Casino.org<\/em> when asked about the expansion.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Dallas Fort Worth [DFW] Metroplex has 6.4 million residents. When you add in adjacent areas of North Texas, the total population in the region is twice that of the entire state of Oklahoma.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oklahoma Dependent on Texas Gamblers<\/h2>\n

He points out that Oklahoma\u2019s casino industry \u201chas long depended on players from the Lone Star State.<\/p>\n

Without Texans, most of the casinos in southern Oklahoma are not economically viable, as they depend heavily on Texas visitors to turn a profit, be it from the DFW Metroplex or from mid-sized metro areas, such as Sherman and Wichita Falls,\u201d Jones added.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Casino companies, especially Las Vegas Sands<\/a>, have tried to open commercial gaming properties in Texas. But political opposition<\/a> so far has prevented the move from getting enacted.<\/p>\n

The Oklahoma casino expansion \u201cwill have a modest negative impact on efforts to open casinos in Texas,\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n

He says as long as Greg Abbott is governor and Dan Patrick is lieutenant governor, both Republicans, prospects for casino gambling in Texas \u201cwill remain remote.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Also, if Texas does ever open commercial casinos, \u201cmost of the southern Oklahoma casinos, such as the Choctaw Casino & Resort and the nearby Chickasaw Winstar World Casino & Resort, begin the process of either shutting down or substantially scaling back their operations,\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

But for now, \u201cThe more the Choctaw invest in casino expansion targeting Texas visitors, the harder they are going to work — via campaign donations and lobbying — to prevent the opening of casinos in Texas,\u201d Jones added.<\/p>\n

Reconsidering Texas Casinos<\/h2>\n

Proposals to legalize casinos will be back on the Texas legislative agenda in 2023, when the legislature next convenes in regular session, Barrow said.<\/p>\n

Without any other local gaming option, Texans will visit neighboring states for recreation,\u201d University of Houston political scientist Brandon Rottinghaus said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cThe demand for gaming is strong in large urban areas, so proponents of expanded gaming in Texas can clearly show demand for the product.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Oklahoma\u2019s Choctaw Casino & Resort opened its $600M hotel and gaming floor addition earlier this month. It is seen as an added way to draw players from nearby North Texas. The Durant, Okla. gaming property is approximately 14 miles from the border with Texas. It is some 88 miles to Dallas. Improvements include a 1,000-room, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":183164,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,18456],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n$600M Oklahoma Tribal Casino Expansion Targets Texas Gamblers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Oklahoma\u2019s Choctaw Casino & Resort opened its $600M hotel and gaming floor addition earlier this month. 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