Osage Nation begins construction of two new Oklahoma casinos

The Osage Nation has broken ground on both of its new casino resort developments in Oklahoma, in Bartlesville and Pawhuska.

US.- The construction of two new casinos in Oklahoma is underway after the Osage Nation broke ground on both its Bartlesville and Pawhuska sites.

The tribe has been planning both developments since 2014. It announced in June 2020 that it would relocate and expand its existing Oklahoma venues.

Both facilities have been long due and faced delays throughout the planning stage. They are now expected to open in late 2022.

Byron Bighorse, Osage Casinos CEO, said: “We received approval for both applications last summer and immediately got to work on adjusting the scope of the properties to accommodate today’s construction costs. Demand in both markets continues to rise, and I am proud that we worked together as an enterprise to see this come to fruition.”

As well as relocation, the new venues will add new amenities to the tribe’s current operations, including hotels, pools, spas, fitness areas and meeting space.

The Bartleville casino is being built just two miles west of downtown. It will cover 57,400 square feet and have 500 slot machines. The current venue covers only 42,000 square feet and hosts 440 slot machines. The new venue will also add a 101-room hotel and 10,560 square feet of meeting space.

The Pawhuska venue will host a number of machines, with 250 electronic games, a 47-room hotel and 3,675 square feet of meeting space.

Visit Bartlesville executive director Maria Gus said: “(The addition of the hotel) results in longer stays and more days in the area where they’re spending money, getting fuel, going out to eat, going shopping.

“This truly just helps grow the impact of our regional destination. I hope what it does is help our hotels to work harder too to get more visitors to the area.”