Capitol Beat OK

Below is a transcript of remarks made by Otoe-Missouria Tribe Chairman John R. Shotton at the press conference announcing an historic agreement between the Otoe-Missouria Tribe and the state of Oklahoma with a new gaming compact.

“This Otoe-Missouria Tribal Council is excited about the signing of a new Class III Gaming Compact with the State of Oklahoma. At a time when so much is uncertain in our tribal government due to the Covid-19 situation, we have negotiated a new compact that provides stability for the Otoe-Missouria Tribe’s future in gaming for our tribe, employees, patrons, vendors, and our banking partners when things return to normal and we are able to open our casinos again.

“The new Otoe-Missouria compact provides a lower rate than we are currently paying for our Class III machines. The term is not limited to 15 years. It also allows for house banked card and table games. Sports Book will be available. There are opportunities for expanded gaming in the future.

While we do believe the current compact auto-renewed at the end of 2019 for another 15 years, we chose to sit down with the Governor and his team to discuss what his ideas were for a new or amended compact. After weeks of productive negotiations, the result is the compact agreement that was reached that we feel is a definite win/win for the Otoe-Missouria Tribe and the State of Oklahoma.

Most importantly, we have a stable foundation for the Otoe-Missouria Tribe that is not limited to the next 15 years with clear dispute resolution parameters moving forward. I want to thank our Otoe-Missouria legal team led by Robert Rosette at Rosette, LLP as well as Governor Stitt, his staff, and legal team for all of the good faith negotiations and effort that made this new compact possible for the Otoe-Missouria Tribe.”

The full gaming compact can be read here: (https://www.governor.ok.gov/static-assets/documents/gamingcompacts/gaming_compact_otoe_missouria.pdf)

About The Otoe-Missouria Tribe: The Otoe-Missouria Tribe is located in North Central Oklahoma in Red Rock. There are currently 3,288 members enrolled in the tribe with 2,242 living in Oklahoma. The tribe was relocated to Oklahoma in 1881 from its first reservation on the border of Nebraska and Kansas. For more information about the Otoe-Missouria Tribe, visit https://www.omtribe.org/

Otoe-Missouria Tribe Chairman issues statement regarding new Gaming Compact with State of Oklahoma