Casino coming on Route 66 in Oklahoma

Buried in the text of this conference call about third-quarter earnings for Lakes Entertainment is this:

Now I will discuss our projects with the Iowa tribe of Oklahoma. Lakes has signed a consulting and management agreement with the Iowa tribe to assist in the development, construction, and management of two gaming facilities. […]

The second project with the Iowa tribe of Oklahoma is the development of a full-service casino and resort which will be named the Ioway casino on tribal land located on Route 66 midway between Warwick and Chandler, Oklahoma. The Iowa tribe has members that own a 74-acre allotment on the U.S. Route 66 from whom the Iowa tribe has acquired the rights to purchase and/or lease the land for the casino development. An additional 100 acres of fee land has been acquired to provide the necessary site area for the project. The long-term plan is to acquire an additional 300 acres of nontrust land for the development of the majority of the nongaming facility. The Bureau of Indians Affairs, or the BIA, must approve the transfer of land to the tribe. […]

The proposed development is a plan — is planned to have approximately 1,200 slot machines, 30 table games, 4 restaurants, 150-room hotel, small conference room, a child care facility, parking in back of the house support facilities. Future development may include additional gaming, hotel rooms, meeting space, special events center, golf course, and other market-driven amenities. We anticipate construction to begin mid 2008 with an anticipated opening in the third quarter of 2009.

Lake’s Web site also has information about the casino, but little more than what was revealed in the conference call.

I’d heard something like this was likely happening in that area, and this conference call confirms it. It looks like the only thing holding it back are the usual regulatory hurdles.

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