Casinos launch new ball, dice games
After Oklahoma lawmakers approved traditional ball and dice games this year, casinos are now able to open those tables up to customers.
The law expands gaming rules to allow roulette and craps.
Many casinos already had these kinds of games, but the outcomes were based on the use of playing cards rather than what someone might find in a Las Vegas casino.
In all, the state signed agreements with 13 tribes.
The U.S. Department of Interior gave final approval to the compacts last week.
The Cherokee Nation celebrated Monday by holding a ceremonial roll of the dice at its Hard Rock Casino in Tulsa.
“We never really had a clear idea of what the implementation date was going to be until the week of,” said Mickey Ward, senior director of corporate gaming for the Cherokee Nation. “So we put a lot of teasers out there to the public that this was coming, getting them excited.”
Both tribes and lawmakers said that expanding the use of traditional games would keep more gambling money in Oklahoma, rather than having it leave the state for other casino havens like the Gulf Coast and Kansas City.
“The biggest thing is that it now allows us to offer the products that they’re used to seeing in the traditional commercial gaming market. So dollars that we would normally see leave the state of Oklahoma, they now can stay within the state,” Ward said.
The Chickasaw Nation launched craps and roulette at its Winstar World Casino and Resort on Friday, and roulette at the Riverwind Casino on Saturday. Other tribes are cashing in on the new law, including the Choctaw Nation, which opened its 10 tables in three casinos last week.
Cherokee Nation Entertainment will have seven traditional roulette and five craps tables spread across three of its casinos.
The tribe built a new training site for about 50 employees to learn how to use the games and put them through dozens of hours of training. Casinos in Oklahoma have had games similar to roulette and craps before, but state law prevented them from having actual balls and dice used.
Instead, players won or lost based on the use of playing cards that simulated the Vegas-style games.
The new law will allow electronic roulette and dice games to use outcomes based on a ball or dice. “We feel this puts tribal gaming in Oklahoma on the level playing field now with all of your traditional commercial markets. Anything that a player would want to seek in their gaming experience we can now offer here in the state,” said Ward.