Seminole-owned casinos plan regulatory response

But Seminole Nation Gaming Commission Chairman Willis Deatherage said Tuesday he did not think the casinos were in danger of closing.

“They’re giving us one last opportunity to make some changes,” he told The Ada News in a phone interview.

The tribe operates three casinos in Seminole County: the Seminole Nation Casino in Seminole, River Mist Casino near Konawa and the Trading Post in Wewoka. Deatherage estimated the three casinos employ 160 people altogether and the Seminole Nation Gaming Agency, the tribe’s regulatory agency, has about 40 staffers.

The National Indian Gaming Commission — a federal agency that oversees Native American gaming operations — recently faulted the tribe for failing to comply with agency regulations. The NIGC listed those problems in a letter to Principal Chief Leonard Harjo.

The tribe currently owes the NIGC about $1.4 million, the remainder of a fine that was assessed in 2003 for gaming without a compact, according to Deatherage. Tribal leaders have asked NIGC to waive the outstanding balance, which prompted the agency to examine the tribe’s gaming operation.

in September 2015. Based on its findings, the agency denied the tribe’s request to waive the rest of the fine.

Deatherage said several factors, including employee turnover and lack of training, contributed to the compliance problems.

“You really can’t pinpoint one issue when there are hundred of needles in the pincushion,” he said.

Deatherage said the Seminole Nation Gaming Agency has tried to submit an action plan for correcting the compliance issues to NIGC, but the NIGC has indicated it wants to deal directly with the tribe.

Deatherage said the NIGC has several options for resolving the situation, including issuing a notice of violation, assessing another fine or ordering the casinos to close temporarily. He said shutting down the casinos would affect not only their employees but the rest of the tribe — and the town of Seminole as a whole.

“The NIGC realizes that, so the last thing they want to do is shut someone down,” he said.

Harjo said in a phone interview with The Ada News he was not directly involved in gaming operations until recently, when tribal leaders placed that division under the supervision of the executive branch.

Harjo said the tribe is developing a plan to address the NIGC’s concerns, but he was not at liberty to discuss the plan in detail. He said the plan may be finalized within the next few weeks, but he did not have a timeline for its completion.

Harjo said he was optimistic that the tribe will be able to solve its compliance problems without incurring further penalties.

“We believe we’ll be able to resolve the issue without a fine or closure,” he commented.