Oklahoma New Site of Comanche Nation Casino, Property Recognizes Tribal History

Posted on: April 3, 2021, 07:20h. 

Last updated on: July 7, 2021, 01:36h.

Ed Silverstein @casinoorgedsilv Read More
Expertise: Legal, Tribal Gaming.

Cache, Okla. is the location of a new Comanche Nation gaming property. A ground-breaking ceremony took place on Saturday.

The 17,000-square-foot gaming property is scheduled to be open for business by New Year’s Eve
Comanche Nation Principal Chief Quanah Parker shown here. His leadership during the 1800s and early 1900s is to be recognized in a tribal casino under construction in Cache, Okla. (Image: True West Magazine)

The community is located about 100 miles southwest of the state’s capital city of Oklahoma City. When construction is complete, perhaps by the end of this year, the venue will honor the tribe’s history and leaders.

The 17,000-square-foot gaming property is scheduled to be open for business by New Year’s Eve. It will include 250 gaming machines on the casino floor.

It has taken tribal leaders several years to get the project underway, according to the Texoma News Network.

Based in Lawton, Comanche Nation Entertainment manages tribal casino and hotel-casino properties in southwestern Oklahoma. It is owned and operated by the Comanche Nation.

Chief Quanah Parker Recognized

A key focus of the gaming property will be on the history and culture of the Comanche Nation. It will highlight the contributions of Chief Quanah Parker.

He was principal chief of the Comanche Nation starting in the 1800s. He led battles in the Red River War. The conflicts were tied to disputes with non-Indians hunting bison to the point of near extinction. Later, Quanah Parker surrendered. He led the Kwahadi band of the Comanche Nation as they settled in the reservation at Oklahoma’s Fort Sill. It is about 15 miles east of Cache.

He was known as the “Last Chief of the Comanche.” Quanah Parker was also the representative of Native Americans to the US government. Upon his passing in 1911, he was buried at Chief’s Knoll at Fort Sill. Comanche Nation Entertainment CEO Mia Tahdooahnippah noted the history of the tribe in and around Cache.

“We have culture and long tradition in the town. Comanches have been here long before the state became a state,” Tahdooahnippah said about Oklahoma’s path to statehood, which took place in 1907.

The tribe operates existing casinos in the region. Comanche gaming properties twice were shuttered during the last 14 months.

Comanche Red River Closure

In February, the Comanche Red River Hotel Casino and the Comanche Travel Plaza, both in Devol, were shuttered temporarily for several days because of a water main break during a cold spell. The tribe donated money for the repair project. Power outages left more than 100,000 Oklahomans without electricity.

Last year, a several-month shuttering of Comanche Nation casinos took place in the region between March and June of 2020, according to The Lawton Constitution, a local newspaper. That was to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19. The Comanche Nation closed gaming facilities in Devol, as well as in Lawton, Walters, and Richards Spur, the report said.

“We would like to thank the Comanche Business Committee for making a difficult decision to help our community,” Tahdooahnippah said during last year’s shuttering. “This is just historic for our state, our tribe, and our world.”