The Chickasaw Nation's businesses and enterprises continued to perform well in FY 2009. Many were able to expand and increase services as well as enhance current operations.
The much-anticipated expansion of WinStar World Casino, which more than doubled the size of the Chickasaw Nation's largest gaming center, opened in December 2008. The projects continued in 2009 and included a state-of-the-art RV park with more than 150 parking spaces which opened in late summer, a 400-room hotel which opened in early fall and additional restaurants to accommodate casino visitors.
Expansion of the Newcastle Gaming Center, the Chickasaw Nation's third largest casino, was also completed during fiscal year 2009. The expansion added 500 gaming machines totaling more than 1,800 machines at the Newcastle facility. In addition, a new restaurant was also introduced.
Renovations were made to several Chickasaw Nation convenience stores and travel plazas in FY 2009. In addition to new logos and various other cosmetic improvements, the renovations also incorporated new and enhanced products designed to elevate the overall quality of the tribe's facilities.
South Central Oklahoma Radio Enterprises (SCORE), the Chickasaw Nation's commercial radio business, experienced significant growth during the 2009 fiscal year. With the acquisition of two additional stations, SCORE secured a commanding share of the south-central Oklahoma radio market. As a result, SCORE had an increase in advertising revenue for fiscal year 2009. The Chickasaw Nation now owns and operates five commercial radio stations, KADA 99.3 FM, KADA 1230 AM, KYKC 100.1 FM, KXFC 105.5 FM and KTLS 106.5 FM. The tribe also operates one community radio station, KCNP 89.5 FM.
With the development of a new vendor website, the minority vendor program continued to grow during fiscal year 2009. Minority vendors can now register online with the Chickasaw Nation to ensure their businesses receive appropriate consideration for preferred bidding opportunities. The minority vendor program includes the preferred Chickasaw vendor program. The minority business registry can be found at www.chickasawbusinessregistry.com. Sixty-six preferred vendors and 114 minority vendors have been certified through this process.
Since launching a Native American mortgage subsidiary in 2008, Bank2 has become a national leader in producing home loans for Native Americans. Native Americans make up 72 percent of Bank2's loan portfolio and 42 percent of its deposits. Bank2 has been listed as one of the top 100 Native American owned companies for the past five years.
Chickasaw Nation Industries (CNI) strengthened its performance by expanding its customer base and increasing profitability. CNI is recognized as a national leader among tribally owned firms in federal government contracting. During the 2009 fiscal year, CNI successfully developed an industry-leading cyber security Center-of-Excellence for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. CNI was also recognized by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for its contribution to dramatic improvements in Medicare and Medicaid business processes, resulting in millions of dollars in program savings.
Solara Healthcare, one of the most successful examples of the Chickasaw Nation's diversification efforts, continued to pay dividends to the tribe during fiscal year 2009. Solara Healthcare operates nine hospitals, including seven long-term acute care hospitals in Oklahoma and Texas and two psychiatric hospitals located in Texas and Louisiana. Following a period of dramatic growth, Solara is now focused on building patient volumes and operational efficiency.
Bedré Chocolates experienced another successful year, adding several new customers including Redstone Foods, Cherokee Resort Casino/Hard Rock Tulsa, the Skirvin Hotel and Elite Fundraising. In March 2009, Bedré launched a new website offering customers the option of ordering Bedré products online at www.bedrechocolates.com.
In addition to increasing its customer base, Bedré also received major recognition for excellence in quality. In May 2009, Bedré achieved ISO 9001:2008 certification. The ISO 9001 is a highly respected, internationally recognized standard for quality management in manufacturing. In February 2009, Bedré also received recognition for "Superior Performance in Food Safety" marking its second consecutive rating of "Excellent" as mandated by the ASI Food Safety Consultants Auditing Program.
During fiscal year 2009, Oklahoma Optical expanded to include a full-service optical shop at the Purcell health clinic two days per week, increasing convenience and accessibility for customers. Oklahoma Optical averaged 60 new customers per month and sales increased, averaging $8,000 more per month compared to the 2008 fiscal year.
Global Gaming Solutions (GGS), established in 2008 to pursue gaming opportunities outside the boundaries of the Chickasaw Nation, continued to make great strides. During FY 2009, GGS successfully completed a number of consulting projects for Native American tribes and acquired interests in profitable gaming operations outside of Oklahoma.
The environmental health and safety department of the Chickasaw Nation Division of Commerce was awarded the 2009 Partners in Conservation Award by the United States Department of the Interior for participating in a joint aquifer recharge project. The project involved the capture of flood waters to refill depleted aquifers for future use during periods of drought. The American Water Institute, a water engineering firm established as part of the Chickasaw Nation's business diversification efforts, will utilize the technology and processes developed within the aquifer recharge project to develop future business opportunities.
Other accomplishments:
- KADA 99.3 FM was awarded first place in the commercial announcement category for the Non-Metro Radio Division during fiscal year 2009.
- KYKC 100.1 FM's Rich Kaye was named a finalist for the Non-Metro Radio Division Personality of the Year for 2008.
- The Chickasaw Nation was featured on National Public Radio (NPR) in April 2009. NPR aired "A Sovereign (And Successful) Chickasaw Nation" during its "Morning Edition" program, highlighting the tribe's economic diversification efforts.
- Bank2 was featured on an April 2009 segment of "Nightly Business Report," a production of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). The segment, called "Native American Entrepreneurs – Bank2," focused on the successful home mortgage operation of the bank.
WinStar World Casino and Hotel
Expansion opened in December 2008
Much of the growth of the division of commerce during FY 2009 occurred with the tribe's gaming businesses. The tribe's largest gaming facility, the WinStar World Casino, completed its expansion in December 2008 and successfully opened to waiting crowds. The much-anticipated expansion of WinStar doubled the size of the casino floor and nearly tripled the number of electronic gaming machines. The WinStar World Casino stands as one of the five largest casinos in the world.
The newly expanded 519,000-square-foot casino is modeled after famous cities from around the world and offers more than 380,000 square feet for electronic and table games. WinStar also includes restaurants representing a variety of world cuisines; convention and meeting space; a 2,500 seat theatre and an RV park complete with a dedicated gaming space for RV guests.
WinStar also completed construction on its new, 12-story, WinStar World Casino Hotel. The hotel, modeled after a Tuscan villa, is directly connected to the WinStar World Casino. The hotel offers guests first class amenities, including 395 rooms and luxury suites, full concierge service, three restaurants, meeting rooms, banquet spaces and a world-class resort pool featuring a custom-built waterfall grotto.
WinStar has become one of southern Oklahoma's largest employers. More than 2,400 people are employed by WinStar. Both full-time and part‑time jobs at WinStar offer medical and retirement benefits.
An expansion of the award-winning WinStar Golf Course is also underway. The expansion will add an additional nine holes to the existing 18-hole course. This expansion will help meet increasing demand as well as enable the course to host additional tournaments and league play.
