Editorial: States on a roll when it comes to gaming

Tuesday, October 9, 2007  

"The number of gaming sites in Oklahoma has climbed past 90, part of a nationwide expansion in gambling that only continues to grow.

Some form of gaming — lottery, casinos, racinos — is conducted in all but two states (Utah and Hawaii). The Web site stateline.org, which tracks legislation around the country, reports more than a dozen states worked this year to significantly expand their gaming interests. The most aggressive effort occurred in neighboring Kansas, which has decided to own and operate casino resorts. Private contractors will manage the facilities but Kansas will own them

In the case of Kansas, it's an effort to compete with commercial gambling operations in neighboring Iowa, Missouri and Colorado. But if the Sunflower State were to place one of its casinos along its southern border, that would surely impact tribal casinos located in northern Oklahoma. The same would be true if Texas were to follow the national trend and place a casino in north Texas.

That doesn't appear to be a concern here, at least not yet. The Chickasaw tribe recently announced plans to double its already gigantic WinStar casino near Thackerville. When work is done, the site will house 6,000 electronic games."

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Editorial: On a roll: States' gaming interests increasing (The Oklahoman 10/9)
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