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Gambling on video poker in Oklahoma
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 16, 2003

ON THE OKLAHOMA-TEXAS BORDER IN S.W. OKLAHOMA -- Like most tribal casinos these days, the Comanche Nation's Red River Casino offers a variety of electronic gaming machines. But 40 machines in this casino are quite different from all the others. These machines allow you to play an electronic version of poker.

In (very small) fine print, the machines state: "This is a pari-mutuel lottery game." Parimutuel games are indeed offered in Oklahoma -- in the form of pari-mutuel horse racing, which some tribes offer at off-track betting facilities. The Red River Casino hosts an off-track betting facility.

In most states where some forms of Class III games are allowed, video poker is authorized for play by a tribal-state compact. In Oklahoma, the Comanche Nation has a Class III compact -- for off-track betting.

Can the Comanche Nation offer this machine under its Class III compact? A December 2001 opinion by the Oklahoma attorney general answered "no" when a related question was asked.

So is the machine a Class II game, meaning it is free from the confines of tribal-state compact? Unlike other Class II machines, the machine doesn't appear to offer a pull-tab to the customer. Pull-tabs are Class II games and are legal in Oklahoma without a compact.

Also, the machine doesn't appear to be a variant of a bingo game. Companies like Multimedia Games (http://www.multimediagames.com) of Austin, Texas, offer these sorts of machines, although the NIGC has questioned whether they skirt the line between Class II and Class III.

The 40 machines at the Red River Casino are manufactured by Cyberdyne Systems, Inc. (http://www.cyberdynegaming.com) of Phoenix, Arizona.

How to Play
When you sit down at the machine, you are presented with one screen. Five playing cards are on the lower half of the screen; the upper half of the screen lists the payout amounts of the different poker "hands" such as Royal Flush or 4-of-a-Kind.

After your place your bet, in 25-cent increments, five seemingly random cards are shown to you.

You can then use the game's "Autohold" feature that recommends cards for you to hold. Or you can choose what cards to keep and what cards to toss by pressing one of the corresponding buttons, which are lighted for your convenience. As with any poker game, you are allowed to draw more cards to replace those you discard.

When play is finished, you can press the "payout" button to retrieve your winnings -- in the form of a piece of paper that states its worth. You have one day to redeem the piece of paper for cold-hard cash. You have to sign the paper to redeem it.

Where to Play
The Red River Casino is located at Highway 277 and Highway 70 in Randlett, Oklahoma, near the Texas border. The Comanche Nation has another facility in Lawton, but no Cyberdyne machines were present at that facility during a recent visit.

The current chairman of the Comanche Nation is Johnny Wauqua. One of the NIGC's Commissioners is a member of the Comanche Nation, Cloyce "Chuck") V. Choney.

Calls placed to the NIGC and the Comanche Nation Gaming Commission about the Cyberdyne machines weren't immediately returned.

Relevant Links:
Comanche Nation - http://www.comanchenation.com
Cyberdyne Gaming - http://www.cyberdynegaming.com
National Indian Gaming Commission - http://www.nigc.gov