Here is the latest news on the status of table games in Oklahoma. There still hasn't been a definite wording of exactly what the indian tribes will be offering in their compacts. Looks like we won't find out till August.

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Gov. Brad Henry is backed by House Speaker Larry Adair (left), Senate President Pro Tem Cal Hobson (right) and other supporters during a ceremony Tuesday to sign Senate Bill 553, a measure that allows electronic gaming at three state horse-racing tracks and creates a model gaming compact for tribal casinos.
STEPHEN PINGRY / Tulsa World

Henry signs track gaming bill
By PAUL ENGLISH World Capitol Bureau
3/10/2004

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Measure to take effect in August unless foes get it on ballot

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Gov. Brad Henry ceremonially signed an electronic gaming bill Tuesday and predicted that opponents would have a hard time challenging it with a statewide vote.

"I think they'll lose if they mount a petition drive and do get it to the ballot," he said.

The measure, Senate Bill 553, will go into effect near the end of August unless opponents gather at least 51,781 valid signatures to put it to a statewide vote.

The measure will allow three state horse-racing tracks -- Remington Park, Will Rogers Downs and Blue Ribbon Downs -- to offer limited numbers of electronic games. Fair Meadows, on the Tul sa fairgrounds, will not be allowed to operate games but will share in revenues from Tulsa-area tribal casinos.

It also establishes a model compact for tribal gaming operations.

"Nobody thought

we could do this," Henry said, surrounded by about 100 people in the Blue Room of the Capitol.

"This would never have happened without the coalition that came together."

Henry said support came from the state horse industry, tribes, horse track officials, educators, public employees, business and chambers of commerce.

The governor, House Speaker Larry Adair, D-Stilwell, and Senate President Pro Tem Cal Hobson, D-Lexington, thanked people who played key roles in the drafting and passage of the bill.

"This deal is very important to Oklahoma because it signals that we recognize that we have a situation in Oklahoma that frankly had been ignored for far too long, and it was a bad situation for everybody," Henry said.

"The state of Oklahoma had no regulatory control over the tribal gaming that was occurring out there."

Henry said the tribes didn't have any legal certainty, "so they were constantly fighting battles and having to pay large legal fees."

"Our horsemen were suffering because the purses at the racetracks in Oklahoma were too small and they couldn't make a living by running their horses here in Oklahoma."

Henry said SB 553 is "not a bill to expand gambling in the state of Oklahoma."

The bill is intended to give some legal certainty to the tribes, provide some revenue for education, provide parity for racetracks, and help the horse industry, the governor said.

Henry thanked the Absentee Shawnee Tribe and Gov. Kenneth Blanchard "for their initial leadership and then the leadership they showed throughout this process."

He also praised the tribe's attorneys, William Norman and Kirk Kickingbird, for working on the language in the bill.

A spokesman for the tribe said SB 553 is expected to increase its annual gaming revenues by $12 million.

The state is expected to receive about $71 million a year from its share of the revenues from the electronic games at the casinos and tracks.

Henry also applauded Choctaw Chief Greg Pyle, Chickasaw Gov. Bill Anoatubby, and Cherokee Principal Chief Chad Smith.

Adair and Hobson said grass-roots support for a measure had not been so strong since lawmakers debated over House Bill 1017, an education tax and reform law, about 14 years ago.

Adair said, "I think history will show that we did the right thing on passing SB 553."

Hobson said, "It is rare when divergent groups come together and decide on their own that they will speak with one voice about the future of Oklahoma.

"That's what these groups did -- tribes, horsemen, Native Americans, just plain citizens -- who saw a broken system and said to their elected officials: 'Why don't you people do your job and fix it?' And they did."