In Oklahoma, a plan by the Shawnee Tribe to build a $25 million casino near the panhandle city of Guymon is drawing continuous criticism including most recently from a Republican member of the Oklahoma State Senate. More than 100 Panhandle residents opposed to this Shawnee Tribe’s application to build a 42,000 square foot casino 3.5 miles southwest of Guymon attended Thursday night’s public meeting held by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) regarding the tribe’s fee to trust acquisition.
Lucinda Ray of Panhandle Citizens for Truth in Gaming said, “The approval of the casino would set the shocking precedent that a tribe can put land into trust anywhere in the state, or the nation for that matter, for their own financial gain despite it being detrimental to a local community,” “We don’t want a casino in our backyard any more than the residents of Oklahoma City did in their previous application.”
Previously the Shawnee Tribe attempted to put land into trust twice but both the application were denied due to local opposition. The opposition includes speaker Tom Stephens, a member of the Oklahoma Wheat Commission, Wayne Dawson, a volunteer firefighter and 2015 Guymon Citizen of the Year, John Garrison, a local CPA and incorporator of Panhandle for Education and Good Government, Inc., and others who shared their personal stories regarding the consequences of gambling addiction and concerns about the impact the casino would have on the local economy.
Wayne Dawson said, “It would be financially and economically detrimental to a community the size of Guymon if a casino were built here,” “The actions of the outgoing Administration to expedite this application and expand tribal gaming at the 11th hour in a part of our state that wholeheartedly opposes it is an overreach.”
The Shawnee Tribe had its federal recognition restored in December of 2000 and reportedly wants the land for its Golden Mesa Casino taken into trust. In order to make this happen, it must pass a two art determination process under the Indian Gaming regulatory Act.
Oklahoma State Senator Bryce Marlatt, who represents District 27 of the Oklahoma State Senate, told The Oklahoman that it would be “a terrible precedent by the federal government” to approve the casino on “lands where tribes have no historical ties”.
This could open a floodgate of casinos and other tribal ventures on almost every corner in Oklahoma,” Marlatt, who represents nine Oklahoma counties including Texas County, told the newspaper. “This move is also concerning to citizens in the panhandle because of the societal ills associated with the proliferation of gambling.”
