Texas tribe calls community to support Naskila gaming facility amid closure threats

Several tribe members and employees of Naskila Gaming were on hand at the Rotary meeting to discuss the economic benefits to Polk County and the state of Texas from the fledgling facility, to give an update on the current legal challenge by the state and to invite everyone to support the tribe and their efforts at creating a better life for their community.

Yolanda Poncho, marketing coordinator for Naskila, explained the name: “Naskila means ‘dogwood tree’ in our language.”

“The dogwood tree is important to our people. All creation is but Naskila has significant meaning to us,” Yolanda told Rotarians.
Tribal members believe it has medicinal qualities to it and cures fever and malaria.

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Yolanda described the new 15,000 square-foot facility for Rotarians with the help of slides and said it is full with 365 of the newest electronic bingo games

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Part of the complex includes the new Timber Grill restaurant, open daily to serve breakfast, lunch and dinner.

They have also instituted a Seven Feathers Circles Players Club with enrollment already estimated over 38,000 in only the last three months.

The complex has both smoking and non-smoking sections and is completely alcohol free.

It is built on the sprawling 10,200-acre Alabama-Coushatta reservation where the two tribes have lived for more than 200 years in the Big Thicket area of Deep East Texas. The Tribe is a fully functioning sovereign government with a full array of health and human services, including law enforcement and emergency services.

The Tribe is governed by an elected Tribal Council, and advised by both a Principal Chief and a Second Chief who are selected by the people to serve lifetime terms. There are about 1,200 Tribe members about half of whom remain on the reservation.

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For deep southeast Texas, the financial boost given by the new facility is largely due to the near $8 million in salaries annually, 190 of which are full-time

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Yolanda said they were excited that 43 percent of the employees were from the tribe itself, many who didn’t even have any insurance.

“Some of them haven’t had insurance in 20 years, and to hear them say they have it now is a good feeling,” she said.

“A lot of our members are younger and it is so exciting to see them become a part of society and give back,” Yolanda said.

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It took $9.9 million to open the facility, $7.3 million of that in Texas, while $5.5 million was spent in Polk County alone

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Yolanda estimated the tribe, over time, would spend an additional $4.2 million in Texas and of that, approximately $3 million in Polk County to keep the facility open and functioning. With those numbers, it makes Naskila a large part of the economic engine in the region, driving growth and change.

“It is no secret that for those who want to go gaming, their option in southeast Texas has long been to take a trip to Louisiana. Not anymore,” she said with a smile. “You can come to Livingston and turn on 190 and go to State Park Road 56.”
Legal challenge

The gaming facility was authorized to open a Class II bingo facility on its tribal lands by the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) in 2015. After receiving that approval and fearing the state might block the permit because of the Tribe’s 1987 Restoration Act passed by Congress, the Tribe and State then negotiated an agreement to permit the Tribe to operate Naskila pending a court’s review.

“We don’t expect a ruling for at least 10 months,” said Clint Poncho, tribal council member.

“This is really about the tribe’s eligibility to be regulated by the commission (NIGC). We are confident we will be a winner in this fight and we hope for your support,” he said.