Operator News
US – Wyandotte Nation of Oklahoma opens Crosswinds Casino
By Phil - 5 March 2021
The Wyandotte Nation of Oklahoma has opened the Crosswinds Casino to the public with a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Park City, Kansas. The 20,000-square-foot casino has 500 slot machines, 200 VGT s, high-stakes slots room, and a cafe and bar.
Poker and bingo will be offered at a later date. Crosswinds Casino will feature Class II gaming, where players gamble against other players and not the house. The Wyandotte Nation hopes to negotiate a gaming compact with Kansas to allow Class III gaming, which includes Vegas-style slot machines, table games and other house-banked games.
Wyandotte Nation Chief Billy Friend said: “I just want to say thank you to everybody for coming out tonight, to the ribbon cutting and the grand opening of Crosswinds Casino. It has been a long time coming.”
“Our team is so excited to introduce Crosswinds Casino to Park City and the surrounding communities,” said Wyandotte Tribe of Oklahoma (WTOK) CEO Kelly Carpino. WTOK is the federally chartered corporation of the Wyandotte Nation.
“Our focus with all of our gaming properties is to provide a fun, clean atmosphere with fan favorite slots and great customer service. Crosswinds Casino is ready to deliver that same experience to all of our guests.”
Chief Friend said it is was not only a great day for the people of the Wyandotte Nation, but also for the people in the community as the Tribe looked forward to being in Park City.
“This is a great night, it’s a great night for the Wyandotte Nation, a great night for the Wyandotte people. Everything we do on the economic side, the gaming side, it enables us to further improve the quality of life for our tribal citizens; through scholarships, healthcare, housing, through everything we do. This money goes right back into supporting the lives of our people, and the people in our communities as well,” Chief Friend said. “We look forward to being here in Park City, and becoming a stable part of this community and giving back to the programs here.”
Wyandotte Nation in 1991 purchased 10 ½ acres where they currently stood, and finally closed on that land Nov. 25, 1992. At that time, he said, the Tribe received what we now know is a wrongful opinion from the US Government from the Bureau of Indian Affairs that the land did not qualify for gaming.
At the ribbon cutting ceremony, Chief Friend discussed what it took to bring the casino to Park City.
He said the Wyandotte Nation in 1991 purchased 10 ½ acres where they currently stood, and finally closed on that land Nov. 25, 1992. At that time, he said, the Tribe received what we now know is a wrongful opinion from the US Government from the Bureau of Indian Affairs that the land did not qualify for gaming. Following that, the Tribe went on to focus on the land in Kansas City, and eventually opened up a casino after 12 years of litigation there, now known as 7th Street Casino.
“Going through that legal process, what it proved was, the Wyandottes had bought the right piece of land the first time,” Chief Friend said. “The 10 ½ acres did qualify for gaming. In 2006, we reapplied with the Bureau of Indian Affairs for an application to take this land into trust for gaming purposes. From 2006-2020 I spent a lot of time in Washington DC fighting a lot of people and against a lot of ridiculous arguments.”
It was May 20, 2020, when Chief Friend received a phone call from the Bureau of Indian Affairs saying the land had been put into trust and that the land also qualified for gaming.
Chief Friend added: “The Wyandottes — there is one thing about us in our history, we have always been known as a people who adapt and persevere. It doesn’t matter the situation we found ourselves in, our people were always good at adapting and always good at persevering… we continue to do that today.”
The Wyandotte Nation also operates the Lucky Turtle and Wyandotte Nation casinos in Oklahoma and the 7th Street Casino in Kansas City, Kansas.
