Editorial: Osage Nation earns trust status for gaming facilities

Friday, August 26, 2011  

"Leaders of the Osage Nation must have breathed a sigh of relief this week when they received confirmation that their applications to put the sites of three casinos into trust status have been approved by the U.S. Department of the Interior.

What that much-needed approval means is that the lucrative Osage casinos in Tulsa, Skiatook and Ponca City - which employ 600 and generate up to $45 million for tribal operations and about $6 million for the state and the Fair Meadows race track in Tulsa - now have full legal standing.

The application process to gain approval began 14 months ago and could have turned into a lengthy process with the casinos' legal status remaining in limbo."

Get the Story:
Editorial: Osages win (The Tulsa World 8/26)

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BIA backs land-into-trust applications for Osage Nation casinos (8/24)