By Sean Chaffin
A tournament at Choctaw Casino Resort harkens back to poker’s beginnings as a game of chance on the Mississippi River and then among cowboys and settlers in the American West. And the western history of the Choctaw Native Americans and Oklahoma’s cowboy and ranching culture is a major part of the casino and event.
A stroll through the property offers an opportunity to take in architecture and design representative of the Southwest and Native American culture through colors, artwork, and other aspects. Artwork featuring buffalo, Indian warriors, cowboys, coyotes, and other aspects of the Native American and western experience can be seen throughout the property. Players in the field sporting cowboy hats is a norm, like they’ve just gotten off a horse after a day out on the ranch.
Over both starting flights, we’ve seen plenty of rounders ready to lasso in some pots in the comfy Grand Theater.
The Choctaw is now a thriving casino and economic engine of southeast Oklahoma, but getting here for the tribe has not been easy. It has been a long road for the proud Choctaw Indians to the successful flourishing tribe that it is today.
Big Bingo To Big Casino
While the casino is now a massive draw from across Oklahoma and North Texas, the property had humble origins. In 1987, the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma tribe opened the Choctaw Bingo Palace, a 28,000-square-foot facility that was a hit in Durant and attracted players not just from Oklahoma, but also from across the Red River where gambling was (and remains) illegal in Texas.
With big payouts and lots of fun, business boomed. The Bingo Palace became the first Indian Bingo Hall to award $1 million to a lucky winner. The tribe would later add bingo facilities at the Arrowhead Resort in Canadian, the Choctaw Village Shopping Center in Idabel, and in Pocola, according to fivecivilizedtribes.org. The bingo facilities employed more than 200 people and provided a key income to the tribe.
In the late-20th century and into the 2000s, high-stakes bingo flourished and would become the precursor to the major resort casinos that can now be found throughout the state on tribal lands. Many Indian casinos like the Choctaw that now have games ranging from craps and blackjack to poker and slot machines have their roots in the popularity of high-stakes bingo, a tradition of that has its roots in the tradition of tribal self-government. According to David Schwatrz’s exhaustive history book on gambling, Roll the Bones, the Penobscot Indians of Maine and the Seminoles of Florida were the first tribes to begin offering bingo in the 1970s. Oklahoma was soon to follow this trend in the 1980s.
“In 1975, the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act supported and reinforced tribal governments,” according to the Oklahoma Historical Society’s Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. “As a result … American Indians in Oklahoma formed thirty-nine tribal governments that have been federally recognized. These nations exercise powers of self-government, including business councils, and many have tribal courts with law enforcement.”
This new sense of self-determination was an economic boon to tribes in Oklahoma including the Choctaw. By the end of the 20th Century there were 23 bingo and gaming operations on Oklahoma tribal lands. By then, eight Native American bands had successfully negotiated gaming compacts with the state, including the Choctaw Nation.
In 2004, Oklahomans voted to allow expanded Indian gaming spurring the Choctaw to build a bigger casino in 2006 and offering more traditional-style gaming. A larger casino was built onto the property in 2010 and the bingo hall was eventually closed.
Now, along with Choctaw Casino Resort in Durant, the tribe boasts a total of eight casinos throughout the state.
Proud History
The Choctaw Nation has a rich history in Oklahoma, which is now home to about one-third of the entire nation’s Native American population, according to the Oklahoma Historical Society. Its people have persevered through painful times to become a modern economic leader in the state.
In 1830, the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek made the Choctaw the first Indian tribe to walk the Trail of Tears from their traditional homeland in Mississippi. As part of the agreement, the Choctaw were split into two groups: the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and the Mississippi Band, who stayed behind and became US citizens.
The tribe overcame starvation and the move to their new lands. The federal government later curtailed more of their rights in preparation for Oklahoma to enter the union as a state. The federal government also encroached on the Indians’ new lands and Oklahoma’s Indians endured further hardships even after the state entered the union in 1907.
Despite continuing struggles endured by the tribe, 14 Choctaw Indians contributed mightily to the US efforts during World War I beginning in 1918. As part of the 142nd Infantry, members suggested using their native language to communicate military secrets on the front lines in France. Until that time, Germans had been intercepting military communications and cracking the codes. The Choctaw transmissions worked and led to a turnaround on the front lines. The military used the rouse again in World War II to great success. In the 1920s, the members of the tribe were made U.S. citizens by the federal government.
Today, the Choctaw tribe thrives and utilizes casino profits for health care, infrastructure, and the general welfare of its members. Durant is home to the tribe’s largest casino, and also serves as the Choctaw Nation official headquarters. The tribe is the largest single employer in the city and has a massive economic impact in Oklahoma.
Poker Palace and More
This year marks the third year the WPT has come to the Choctaw Casino, which hosts major poker events throughout the year. The WPT stop attracts players from across the country, and has become on of the more popular and prestigious events on the tour.
“We have big guarantees and big fields and draw from coast to coast,” tournament staff member Bill Bruce said. “It helps us diversify our draw of players. We’ve already got the circuit players coming here and the WPT is a different brand of players, so we’ve just covered the whole poker base across the country. That’s the strategy of bringing it here.”
Bruce has worked for eight years helping to organize tournaments at the Choctaw, and says the property continues to grow and expand, offering players more than just a poker tournament experience.
The AAA Four Diamond resort offers more than 776 luxurious rooms and suites. The Oasis Pool has proven popular with gamblers and families alike, boasting several pools (including an indoor oasis to beat the summer heat), 10 private cabanas, a swim-up bar, and water slide. To further offer itself as a destination for families, the property opened The District entertainment venue in 2015, featuring 20 bowling lanes, an arcade, laser tag, and a movie theater.
That same year, the Grand Theater (home of the WPT event), The Spa, and The Spa Tower (286 rooms) were also added. The casino complex offers 4,200 slot machines, 60 table games, and poker room with 30 tables. Numerous dining options abound including including 1832 Steakhouse and Gilley’s bar and restaurant.
“Once they built this beautiful showroom, it made it real easy to come in here and have big tournaments,” Bruce said. “They really want to cater to the poker players as best they can. It’s a different slice of life and a nice pace here. You wouldn’t think you’d want to take a vacation to Durant, Oklahoma, but clearly it’s quite popular with poker players. It’s different than going to one on the East Coast or West Coast. I think a lot of players, no matter what tour, circle it on their calendar and try to come here.”
Popular with the players it is. Season XVI marks the third consecutive season that the World Poker Tour has held an event at Choctaw Casino Resort in Durant, Oklahoma, and it’s looking like another huge field. Two seasons ago, in Season XIV, a field of 1,175 entries was generated with Jason Brin scoring a first-place prize of $682,975. Last season, Season XV, James Mackey topped a field of 1,066 entries to win $666,758.