• Osage Casino Tulsa Oklahoma Reopening Today
• Osage Casino Tulsa Ok Reopening
• Osage Casino Tulsa Oklahoma Reopening Update

Check back often for details and the latest information about the Osage Event Center in Tulsa and locations near you! Opening Fall 2020 New tower for the Tulsa Casino Hotel scheduled to open in 2020. TAHLEQUAH, Okla. The Cherokee, Osage and Creek Nations are all investing millions of dollars in coronavirus relief money into meat processing plants. Cherokee Nation leaders said the COVID-19 pandemic has presented food supply challenges for their elderly and vulnerable members. Deputy Chief Bryan Warner said a solution they have.

• Osage Casino Hotel in Tulsa will reopen May 15. Osage Casino Hotel is preparing to reopen May 15 with new safety measures and limited operations. The casino will be opened in phases as restrictions are lifted. Initially the total number of customers inside the casino will be limited to 1,500 at any one time.
• A crowd fills the parking garage before the reopening of the Osage Casino Hotel in Tulsa, Okla., on Friday, May 15, 2020. The casino was closed for nearly two months because of the coronavirus.
• A man puts on gloves as he waits in line for the reopening of the Osage Casino Hotel in Tulsa, Okla., on Friday, May 15, 2020. The casino was closed for nearly two months because of the coronavirus.

www.newson6.com

By: Amy Kauffman

Some Casinos in Oklahoma have already reopened but more are planning to reopen later this week.

The Osage Casino North of downtown Tulsa is planning to reopen Friday 15th, but they said they’re still working out details of their grand reopening.

They said it will be similar to the opening of their Ponca City location, but said they even plan to add some additional measures from what they’ve learned during their grand reopening there.

In Ponca City, they reopened gaming immediately but left the hotel as well as food and beverage closed until further notice.

Officials have not said if they plan to keep those closed in Tulsa yet, and they also haven’t released any information regarding reopening their pool.

However, they said they plan to do everything they can to enforce social distancing of at least six feet while in casinos.

Officials said they want to continue minimizing and avoiding any unnecessary contact between guests and Osage team members while people are on site.

They’re also encouraging guests to wear personal protective gloves and masks while they’re visiting the casinos.

They are also encouraging anyone over the age of 65 to follow the state’s Stay at Home recommendations.

They said they are still working out the details on a time to reopen but hope to release more information later this week.

Photo caption: Osage Casinos to reopen Ponca City location on May 8. Pictured is the Osage Casinos gaming floor in Ponca City in 2015. Osage News File Photo

Osage Casinos will reopen its Ponca City location on Friday after closing in March due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Osage Casinos in Tulsa, Sand Springs, Bartlesville, Skiatook, Hominy and Pawhuska will reopen on May 15, but not without new strict health guidelines.

“Properties will reopen with occupancy restriction, only one entrance and exit will be allowed, and security will monitor how many guests are allowed on the floor,” said Byron Bighorse, Osage Casinos CEO. “We will open the gaming floors only when we reopen. We are going to bring our hotels online after we open, and we can determine the demand. No food service at this time but we will offer pre-packaged beverage service. Self-service beverage stations will not be utilized until further notice. We will offer limited alcoholic beverages and we are working through our bar areas to determine safe distancing. No banquets or events until further notice.

“I anticipate these coming back as soon as further public restrictions are lifted. Guests 65 and older will be recommended to shelter in place per the state and CDC recommendations. Guests will enter the facilities at their own risk as this virus is not going away and we will all be on safety protocols until further notice,” he said.

The reopening will be guided by a 13-page 'Health & Sanitation Program' that closely monitors government policy changes, CDC guidelines, government mandates and public health advancements, he said. Casino management will continue to make changes as necessary or appropriate to the protocols as they monitor the casinos.

On Wednesday, Gov. Kevin Stitt announced he will begin phase two of the state’s reopening on May 15. He began phase one of the reopening on April 24. Elderly and vulnerable citizens should still follow safer-at-home guidelines, he said.

According to the Oklahoma State Department of Health, as of May 7, Osage County has seven active cases of COVID-19 and Ponca City has three active cases. Since the pandemic began, eight people have died in Osage County from the virus.

Bighorse said as part of their reopening guidelines, all employees will be required to wear masks until further notice.

“Guests will be strongly encouraged to wear a mask and we will make them available, but we will not ask anyone to leave if they do not wear a mask,” he said. “Every other machine will be turned off to promote social distancing. These are just some high-level protocols that guests will see when they come to the properties.”

He said Osage Casinos officials are working with their regulators, the Osage Nation Gaming Commission, to ensure all compliance requirements are met and maintained.

“It is the mission of the Osage Nation Gaming Commission to protect the integrity of the Osage Nation gaming activities. More specifically, we do that by protecting the assets of the Osage Casinos and the most important assets are the Osage Casinos employees and our guests,” said Elizabeth Hembree, Gaming Commission Executive Director, in a May 7 email. “The Commission has carefully reviewed the Osage Casinos Health & Sanitation Program and it was approved by the Osage Nation Gaming Commission Board on May 6, 2020.”

She said the National Indian Gaming Commission has provided strict guidelines for reopening all Indian gaming facilities in the country and the Osage gaming commission must complete an extensive checklist noting all regulatory and staffing concerns and public health and safety recommendations.

“Other concerns noted in the guidance include the gaming floor, surveillance, security, cage and vault areas,” she said. “The [Osage gaming commission] is working diligently with Osage Casinos to ensure compliance is achieved while safely reopening all gaming properties.”

Osage Casinos Reopening Timeline:

Ponca City to open May 8 with limited hours of 10 a.m. to midnight and 2 a.m. on weekends with Occupancy restrictions.

Tulsa to open May 15 with limited two shifts working 10 a.m. to midnight and 2 a.m. on weekends with Occupancy restrictions.

Sand Springs to open May 15 with a limit of two shifts working 10 a.m. to midnight and 2 a.m. on weekends with Occupancy restrictions.

Skiatook to open May 15 with limited two shifts working 10 a.m. to midnight and 2 a.m. on weekends with Occupancy restrictions.

Bartlesville to open May 15 with one shift working 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. with Occupancy restrictions.

Hominy and Pawhuska to open May 15 with one shift working 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. with Occupancy restrictions.

Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear said most of the Oklahoma tribes are planning to resume operations soon and a few other tribes have already reopened.

“I personally observed at the Otoe Missouri Tribe’s Seven Clans Casino how different operations will be. Every other gaming machine was turned off and all the table games are closed so that people are not sitting next to each other,” Standing Bear said. “Obviously, the amount of revenue to the tribal casinos operating at half capacity leaves the tribes well short of their budgets, but it is a start. Everyone is doing what they can on health precautions. Health and safety will come first, but we have to lessen the economic damage that has been done and will be done for many more months.”

Tribal casino reopenings statewide

As of May 6, below are the reopening dates for tribal casinos statewide. The Tonkawa Tribe and Otoe-Missouria Tribe has partially reopened.

Opened on May 1: Tonkawa Hotel and Casino

Osage Casino Tulsa Oklahoma Reopening Today

Limited opening on May 2: First Council Casino (Otoe-Missouria Tribe)

Opening on May 7: Seven Clans Chilocco Gasino (Otoe-Missouria Tribe)

Tentatively opening on May 11: Absentee Shawnee

Tentatively opening May 15: Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, Kaw Nation, Modoc Tribe

Closed through May 15: Cherokee Nation, Chickasaw Nation, Choctaw Nation, Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Sac and Fox Nation, Shawnee Tribe, Wichita and Affiliated Tribes, Wyandotte Nation

Osage Casino Tulsa Ok Reopening

No reopening dates announced: Apache Tribe of Oklahoma, Citizen Potawatomi Nation, Delaware Nation, Eastern Shawnee Tribe, Fort Sill Apache Tribe, Iowa Tribe, Kickapoo Tribe, Kiowa Tribe, Otoe-Missouria Tribe's Paradise and Perry casinos, Ottawa Tribe, Peoria Tribe, Quapaw Tribe, Seneca-Cayuga Tribe, Thlopthlocco Tribal Town, Tonkawa Tribe's Native Lights Casino and Tonkawa Gasino

Osage Casino Tulsa Oklahoma Reopening Update

Osage News Reporter Lenzy Krehbiel-Burton contributed to this report.