Hello All! Just thought I would pass this new abrubt information along, it may have already been disclosed - I am not sure. Effect immediate as of 1/27/03, blackjack operations in Indian casinos in Oklahoma have come to a stop. It is speculative whethere it is a permanent stop or if it is a temporary one, but for now all casinos have stopped blackjack with the exception of the Cherokee Casinos. My wife and I went to the one in Catoosa (Tulsa area) last night. We intended to investigate why they were still operating, but we were unable to get any real information. The only thing we could determine is that the Cherokee tribe has a lot invested in its casino and specifically the blackjack tables. They have three casinos located in West Siloam Springs, Roland, and Catoosa. The one in Catoosa is the "Flagship" casino, and they appearantly have plans to make it as upscale as possible with the proposed addition of a hotel.

Frankly, this tribe has the money to fight any and all obstacles in their way. My understanding from an insider with the Iowa tribe, the Natioanl Indian Gaming Commission recently ruled that blackjack is a class III gaming activity instead of a class II activity. This is why they shut this down in the Oklahoma casinos. From my source, Oklahoma is a class II state, but that could change if we get a lottery.

Anyone that has Oklahoma casino chips, hang on to them....they just went up in value. I just thought that I would pass this along.

Waylon