OUTLOOK 2021
TULSA WORLD
SUNDAY, MARCH 14, 2021 |
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CASINOS
MIKE SIMONS, TULSA WORLD
The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa in Catoosa is among the largest in the state. Cherokee Nation Entertainment was first to implement industry-leading safety standards in response to COVID-19 with its Responsible Hospitality plan, it said.
Entertainment destinations
LOOK FOR A COMEBACK
Like many businesses, area casinos forced to adapt in pandemic
Tulsa-area casinos
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa 777 W. Cherokee St., Catoosa hardrockcasinotulsa.com
MICHAEL DEKKER
Tulsa World
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ike many businesses that were forced to shut down or curtail activities for months last year, Tulsa’s and northeast Oklahoma’s casinos are looking to rebound in 2021. “I think it has been one of our more challenging years,” said Matthew Morgan, chairman of the Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association. “We’re trying to make sure we are going above and beyond to make our customers feel secure.” Three of the largest casino/hotels in the state are in the Tulsa metro — the River Spirit Casino Resort, Osage Casino Tulsa and Cherokee Nation’s Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa in Catoosa. Among them are thousands of gaming machines, hundreds of hotel rooms and hundreds of thousands of square feet of space. All three, along with many other gaming facilities in northeast Oklahoma — and many restaurants and bars — had to shut down at the onset of the pandemic and the end of most gatherings last March. Most casinos were able to reopen about two months later, albeit with limited capacity and, in some cases, limited hours. Morgan said, however, the challenges presented opportunities for many establishments. Many were able to keep paying their employees even when employees could not work because of the shutdowns. Some were even able to give bonuses to help financially strapped employees. Many casinos also adopted safety protocols when they reopened, such as temperature checks for patrons, mask mandates for employees and patrons, plastic separators between machines, keyless entry technology for hotel rooms and even new air-ventilation systems, such as ones that were installed at all Muscogee (Creek) Nation casinos, including River Spirit. The installation of AtmosAir’s bipolar ionization technology neutralizes nearly all traces of COVID-19 in the air and on surfaces, the tribe said in December. “The state-of-the art technology is proven to neutralize coronavirus in the air and on surfaces by 99.92%,” the tribe said in a release. River Spirit experienced “unprecedented situations in back-
Osage Casinos 951 W. 36th St. North osagecasino.com River Spirit Casino Resort
8330 Riverside Parkway riverspirittulsa.com
STEPHEN PINGRY, TULSA WORLD FILE
River Spirit Casino Resort in Tulsa was among many businesses forced to shut down at the onset of the pandemic.
TULSA WORLD FILE
Ron Meyer plays a slot machine at Osage Casino in Tulsa.
to-back years,” with historic flooding in 2019 and the pandemic, said Pat Crofts, CEO of River Spirit Casino Resort and Muscogee (Creek) Nation Casinos. “In both instances, we maintained payroll and full benefits for all employees while closed. Additionally, we committed to continued pay of employees during necessary absences due to the pandemic or if a high-risk health issue prevented an employee from working,” he said in an email. Recently, the Associated Press reported that commercial gaming revenue was down 31% nationally in 2020, compared to the previous year, according to the American Gaming Association.
But casinos in Oklahoma are not considered “commercial” because they operate on tribal trust land. Commercial gaming is operated by private sector for-profit companies under applicable state laws. Tribal governmental gaming is operated by federally recognized tribal governments under the federal law known as the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act and applicable tribal laws for programs and services. Morgan said he did not have specific figures of how much tribal casinos were down in 2020 but said it may not have been as bad as commercial casinos. “I can tell you we are trending
down based on exclusivity figures we are paying to the state,” he said. “I think we fared better than some of the other commercial properties. When you think of commercial properties, you think of places like Las Vegas and the Gulf area in Mississippi. A lot of the commercial properties rely on folks flying in. “We’re more of a local and regional destination here in Oklahoma.” Morgan said casinos are doing everything they can to “get back to normal” this year, not only to provide entertainment for patrons, but also to benefit tribal citizens and local governments.
PA RT N E R S I N P RO G R E S S
“All of our revenues we make go back to the tribes,” he said. Those funds include money for health, education and infrastructure — such as roads, water and sewer lines, and other needs. “We also provide mutual aid for local governments. That money is all going toward those efforts. “The quicker we can get back to normal, the better off the entire community is,” he said. “I think we remain hopeful that we remain trending to where we were in the past,” Morgan said. “As an entertainment offering, we will always look to what our competition is offering ... and also at surrounding states, also. “That to me always highlights why there needs to be a robust and respectful relationship with the state.” Gaming in Oklahoma, he said, is the “third largest in the country.” “We want to stay there. We want to get better.” He said individual tribes will be trying to find their own ways of increasing capacity and safety for patrons. Morgan said some staples, such as concerts and conferences, could return. “In 2021, the most highly anticipated return is lighting up the stage and again holding concerts in our Paradise Cove theater,” Crofts said. “Over the next few months, we will begin to hold a limited number of smaller concerts and private VIP events with the seating at one-half capacity. Currently, we have a full schedule of concerts and events to begin in June and continue throughout the remaining months of 2021.” Crofts added, “Based on the improved data in the Tulsa region, major meetings and conferences will return to River Spirit in the coming months and we have substantial bookings for the third and fourth quarters of 2021.” “Everybody is working to make sure we can get back to normal as quickly as possible,” Morgan said.
