Cherokee Tribe Uses Casino Revenues to Create Economic Boom
While some tribes have been misled into signing bad management and consulting contracts, and others have a few extremely wealthy members while most still live in poverty, the Cherokee Tribe of Oklahoma has used its casino gambling revenue in transparent and productive ways. By reinvesting gaming profits in its own businesses, the tribe has created a growing job base and strong return on its investment.
Cherokee Nation Enterprises released its annual report on casino earnings and how they are spent last week. The company expanded last year by adding over two hundred new jobs, bringing the total payroll to $131.7 million. Cherokees credit the sustained growth to the passing by the tribal council of the Jobs Growth Act of 2005, which earmarks all profits to be invested in Cherokee companies.
“The best service that we can provide for our citizens is a job that allows them the opportunity to earn good wages, have benefits and become self-sufficient for themselves and their family,” says the head of the Cherokee nation, Chad Smith.
Smith notes that by reinvesting profits rather than doling them out, the tribe has grown revenues far beyond the $1 million it took in in 1998 for gambling. He says the long-term benefits of permanent jobs and an expanding economy are the result of not giving handouts.
“Gaming is a tool to create self-sufficiency for Cherokees, whether that self-sufficiency is achieved through creating jobs or employing local vendors. Either way, the jobs and the money stay right here in our local communities,” said Smith.
