Oklahoma court allows Riverstar Casino to continue

A federal appellate court in Oklahoma has dismissed the pleas submitted for blocking the operation of Riverstar Casino in Terral. The business rival of Riverstar, Comanche Nation, had filed the plea. With this ruling Riverstar Casino can continue its operation.

The property started its functioning in the last spring. It has more than 600 slot machines and six table games, including blackjack and three card poker ones. Chickasaw Nation operates the casino, which situated along US Highway 81 in Jefferson County, just north of Oklahoma’s border with Texas.

Comanche Nation, which operates a gambling venue just 45 miles from Riverstar, has been opposing the opening of the new facility.

The Comanche Nation filed a case, arguing that the US Secretary of the Interior allowing land near Terral to be placed in trust so that the Chickasaws open a casino was an invalid action. The lawsuit argued that the US Department of the Interior failed to determine that the nation “exercised governmental authority” over the casino site before its acquisition.

An Oklahoma City federal judge has not subscribed to the argument. The court ruled that the federal agency based its decision on the fact that while the tribe did not have a reservation, the portion of land the casino currently sits on was part of its former reservation. As a result, it could be taken into trust and used for the operation of a gambling venue under the Indian Reorganization Act. The federal judge declined to order an injunction that would have blocked the Terral gambling venue from opening.