TULSA, Okla. – The Osage Nation’s largest casino and hotel property here in Oklahoma’s second largest city is slated to open with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Aug. 29.
Osage Casino CEO Byron Bighorse said the Tulsa Osage Casino and Hotel project is “under budget, we are on time, everything looks beautiful” during a brief update at the May 16 Gaming Enterprise Board meeting. More details on the ribbon cutting celebration will follow.
The casino will stretch over 240,000 square feet and the hotel is 75,000 square feet, according to casino officials. The hotel room count increased to 141 rooms from an earlier reported 126 rooms. The hotel tower will also comprise six suites and four hospitality suites along with a fitness center and resort-style pool.
On the casino floor, there will be 16 table games, 1,550 electronic gaming machines, and five poker tables. Amenities will include a sports bar and grill, a café and a brewery with a pub. The property will feature a 10,000-square-foot ballroom and three breakout rooms for conferences and special events along with a 25,000-square-foot multi-purpose-use space.
Gaming Enterprise Board member Julie Malone received confirmation for a three-year term from the ON Congress during the Hun-Kah Session and also briefly discussed the casino project while she was considered for board qualification by the Congressional Commerce, Gaming and Land Committee.
“We realize we’re a vital source of revenue for the Nation and so the No. 1 priority would be to increase the revenue and grow those revenues and do it in a way that’s sustainable, responsible and that’s our No. 1 objective,” Malone told the committee on April 16. “The new casino should actually get us going in the right direction.”
As for the other Osage Casino properties, Malone said the land-into-trust application process for future Bartlesville and Pawhuska casino properties is still ongoing. Malone told the committee the gaming board is still “looking at all the angles” regarding development or renovating other casino properties.
In the meantime, the casino and construction officials are posting occasional photos of the Tulsa casino/ hotel project progress online at: http://www.osagecasinos.com/photo-page/new-tulsa-casino-progress
By
Benny Polacca
Original Publish Date: 2018-06-18 00:00:00