Osage Nation Looks to Renovate Tulsa Casino, Add Hotel
Improvements will result in increased benefits for tribal members, community
Tulsa, Okla. – A major building renovation for the Osage Nation’s Tulsa casino, which would create a larger casino, a new hotel and increased economic opportunities for the Nation, is planned pending approval by the Osage Congress in mid-September.
The renovation plan includes a new 88,800-square-foot casino that will have space for 1,500 electronic gaming machines, 39 high-limit machines, 20 table games and five poker tables. Within the casino there will be a sports bar and grill, a small café and an additional casino bar.
The plans also include construction of a new 132-room hotel that will include six suites, a fitness center and resort pool. The hotel also will offer entertainment and meeting space, with a 10,000-square-foot ballroom and three additional breakout rooms for conferences and conventions.
“The Tulsa Casino is the flagship of the Osage Nation Gaming Enterprise and is responsible for more than 44 percent of the net income for our entire gaming enterprise,” said Byron Bighorse, Osage Casino’s CEO. “That represents a significant amount of income that is eventually distributed back to our Nation’s government agencies and into the surrounding community. We recently made significant improvements to our Skiatook and Ponca City casinos and these two facilities have exceeded expectations and been very successful. Now it’s time to focus our efforts on our largest facility.”
If the proposed renovation is approved by the Osage Nation Congress, construction will start with the removal of the event center section of the current facility. Once the casino renovation is complete, the new hotel will be built on the current site of the existing casino and all construction areas will move to the north and east of the facility.
Osage Nation Looks to Renovate Tulsa Casino, Add Hotel
Future phases could include additional hotel rooms, a parking garage, and an entertainment venue.
Bighorse said that the recent appointment of Osage tribal members to the Gaming Enterprise Board and to the Osage Casino executive management team has contributed to a record year for the Osage Casino Enterprise. The tribal distribution and operating income (EBIDA) are the highest in organizational history, which contributes to increased support of area vendors and involvement in surrounding communities.
“This is all made possible by the outstanding leadership of the Osage Casino Gaming Enterprise board and their close work with the newly appointed Osage Casino executive management,” he said. “We are excited to present this plan. We have spent the last nine months reviewing both the design and costs of construction in relations to our net income and the needs of the Nation, and we feel we have a quality project that will allow us to expand our market share into Tulsa’s growing downtown area and establish a strong future for our Nation’s members.”
About Osage Casino
Established in 2002 and overseen by the Osage Tribe Gaming Enterprise Board, Osage Casino is comprised of seven entertainment, dining and gaming destinations in Osage County, including Hominy, Pawhuska, Sand Springs, Tulsa, Bartlesville, Skiatook and Ponca City. The Osage Nation benefits from revenues created by the casinos to: promote tribal economic development; support charitable organizations; help fund tribal government, agencies and programs; and provide for general welfare of the tribe and its members. To learn more about Osage Casino, visit www.osagecasinos.com. For more information about the Osage Nation, visit www.osagenation-nsn.gov.