Oklahoma Cherokee Casino Bringing Much Needed Area Jobs
Oklahoma and Arkansas are rival states in many different ways. From sports to politics the two states are constantly in competition with each other. A planned casino expansion in Oklahoma, however, will bring the two states closer together.
The Cherokee Nation is planning a $108 million expansion of its casino in Oklahoma. The casino is located right near the state line of Arkansas. Both states, like many others in the nation, are watching their economy struggle.
The casino expansion brings hope to revive that economy in the two states. The expansion will mean that 475 new jobs will be available. That means that almost five hundred people without jobs will soon be employed.
The majority of the jobs will become available later in the year when the expansion to the casino floor occurs. There will also be seventy five jobs available at $9 an hour after the January 7th announcement of the $25 million hotel expansion.
The Cherokee Nation is doing its part to help with the economy in the two states. They set their own minimum wage which currently is $8.25 an hour. When the hotel expansion is complete, that will have jumped to $9 an hour. Both of those figures are currently higher than the states standards for minimum wage.
