AGS inks long-term contract renewal with Chickasaw Nation

American Gaming Systems (AGS) (NYSE: AGS), has inked a long-term renewal of its contract with the federally recognized, Chickasaw Nation.

According to the official press release…

Effective March 2019, the contract renewal secures the Las Vegas-based company’s installed base of some 3,200 ‘recurring revenue games’ that comprise the tribal gaming operator’s 22 gambling facilities in the state of Oklahoma.

Extended relationship:

Commenting on the new long-term deal, President and Chief Executive Officer for AGS, David Lopez, said that the company [AGS] is appreciative of its 14-year relationship with the Chickasaw Nation, “this opportunity to renew our business with them, and their confidence in AGS.”

Bill Lance, Secretary of Commerce for the Chickasaw Nation, said…

“We are pleased to renew our long-standing relationship with AGS and look forward to furthering our partnership.”

Expanded positions:

The freshly-inked agreement differs from previous deals as it represents a considerably expanded installed base of Class II gaming positions than the company previously had across the operator’s extensive gambling enterprise.

Among its more than 20 gaming venues, the Chickasaw nation is responsible for what it boasts is the “World’s Biggest Casino,” its WinStar World Casino and Resort located in Thackerville, Oklahoma, near the Oklahoma–Texas state line.

The casino resort features nearly 400,000 square feet of gaming floor and plays host to nine city-themed gaming plazas and more than 8,100 electronic games, 100 table games, a 55-table poker room, an off-track betting parlor, high-stakes rooms, bingo and more.

In September, the Thackerville mega-resort casino became the official casino of the National Football League’s (NFL) Dallas Cowboys.

Terral casino decision:

In December 2018, an effort to block a Chickasaw casino near the small agricultural town of Terral, Oklahoma from staying open, failed when a federal appellate court ruled that the Tribe’s Chickasaw Nation’s Riverstar Casino could continue to operate in Jefferson County on land situated less than two miles from the border with Texas.

Oklahoma City federal judge, Joe Heaton, rejected the argument by attorneys for the Comanche Nation, which operates the Red River Hotel and Casino in Devol about 45 miles away, that the U.S. Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) erred when allowing the Chickasaw Nation, along with other tribes, circumvent requirements regarding the placement of off-reservation land into trust for new casinos.

More specifically, they contended that the action allowing land near the town founded in 1892 to be placed in trust for use as a Chickasaw casino was invalid because the federal agency failed to find that the Tribe [Chickasaw Nation] “exercised governmental authority” over the property prior to the acquisition.

In November 2017, Judge Heaton rejected that argument and refused to issue an injunction to block the casino from opening. That decision was upheld by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver on December 14, 2018.