The early origins of the Chickasaw Nation places them alongside the Mississippi River over 1,200 years ago. According to the Chickasaw Nation, the Chickasaw people branched off from the main group, which became known as the Choctaw people.
When Oklahoma entered the US Union, the Chickasaw people were granted automatic citizenship of the country. However, it wasn’t until the 1970’s that the Public Law 91-495 Act was passed, finally acknowledging the Chickasaw Nation as a federally recognized Tribe.
The Tribe opened The Chickasaw Nation Office of the Gaming Commissioner (CNOGC) on January 24, 1994 following the Chickasaw Nation Public Gaming Act of 1994. This would later be changed to the Chickasaw Gaming Ordinance.
The CNOGC is the primary regulator of all Chickasaw Nation gaming facilities and provides oversight to ensure compliance with federal, tribal and state laws and regulations. It is responsible for the creation, implementation and compliance enforcement of rules and regulations. It also deals with licensees, locations, entities and patrons.
The current Gaming Commissioner is D. Scott Colbert. The Chickasaw Nation Governor is Bill Anoatubby.
The Chickasaw Nation has an incredibly diverse portfolio of operations in its Gaming division.
The casinos include Ada Gaming Center, Artesian Casino, Black Gold Casino, Border Casino, Chisholm Trail Casino, Gold Mountain Casino, Goldsby Gaming Center, Jet Stream Casino, Madill Gaming Center, Newcastle Casino, Newcastle Travel Gaming, RiverStar Casino, Riverwind Casino, Treasure Valley Casino, Texoma Casino, SaltCreek Casino, Washita Casino and WinStar World Casino.
Alongside its casinos, the Chickasaw Nation also operates two racetracks, Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, Texas, and Remington Park Casino in Oklahoma City.
The Ada Gaming Center was the first gaming facility opened by the Chickasaw Nation in 1983, which started out as a bingo hall. Since then the center has had several renovations, expanding it to include a bar and restaurant.
The casino has over 340 electronic games, including slots and a number of table games with live dealers.
The Riverwind Casino, located in Norman, Oklahoma, was opened in 2006 and operates as one of the largest land-based casinos in the state.
The casino spans 219,000 square feet and hosts over 2,800 electronic games, 19 table games, including blackjack, roulette and baccarat, as well as a dedicated poker room. Riverwind Casino also offers off-track betting, allowing customers to bet on tracks including Remington, Churchill Downs, Los Alamitos, Lone Star Park and Aqueduct.
In 2009 the Chickasaw Nation opened up a 100-room Riverwind Hotel, adjoined to the casino by a skybridge. Alongside the casino, Riverwind also hosts a 1500-seat Showplace Theatre and a smaller 77-seat River Lounge.
WinStar World Casino was originally opened in 2004, but underwent a number of expansions until it spanned 370,000 square feet (34,000 m2), making it the largest casino in the US.
With nine gaming plazas, the WinStar World Casino and Resort features 100 table games, over 10,000 electronic games and slots, a 55-table poker room and high-stakes bingo. Similar to the Chickasaw Nation’s other properties, the WinStar World Casino also features a sportsbook where players can place bets on horse races.
The resort is also home to Lucas Oil Live, a 6,500-seat arena that hosts live musical and entertainment acts.
There are two off-site areas at WinStar World Casino and Resort. The 18-hole WinStar Golf Club championship course was designed by former PGA Tour Pro, D A Weibring; and the WinStar RV Park has a shuttle service that takes guests to and from the casino.
Opened in 2008, Global Gaming Solutions (GGS) was created to manage development, management, marketing, and public relations operations. GGS currently manages Golden Mesa Casino, WinStar World Casino, Lone Star Park and Remington Park.
Recently, the Koi Nation Indian Tribe announced that it would utilise GGS to manage and operate its Shiloh Casino and Resort.
GGS also helped to establish the Ponca Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma’s Fancy Dance Casino.
The Chickasaw Nation has over 100 different businesses across various industries. These include manufacturing, energy, technology, hospitality, retail, health care, media and tourism.
The list of Chickasaw businesses includes Bedré Fine Chocolate in Davis, the Lazer Zone Family Fun Center and the McSwain Theatre in Ada, The Artesian Hotel in Sulphur and Chickasaw Nation Industries.
In addition to businesses, the Chickasaw Nation has also been involved in major infrastructure projects in Oklahoma. The Chickasaw Nation Division of Commerce built a $1.7m sewage treatment plant for Goldsby and a $2.1m water tower for Newcastle, having started the practice of building water and wastewater treatment plants across their jurisdictional area in 2011.
