NIGC Chairman Approves Cheyenne and Arapaho Contract Extension

Washington D.C. May 182007 — The National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) Chairman Phil Hogen has approved a two year contract extension between the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribe of Oklahoma and Southwest Hotel and Casino Corp.  This approval was given after the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribal Court ruled that the extension was valid according to tribal law.

Today, the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribal Court issued a ruling that the two year extension was approved using Cheyenne and Arapaho Constitutional procedures and is therefore valid under Cheyenne and Arapaho law.  The contract between Southwest and the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribe was set to expire on Saturday, May 19, 2007.

Chairman Hogen stated “The NIGC has always given proper deference to Tribal Court decisions.  This approval was given consistent with that principal and in accordance with the previous disapproval letter sent on May 16, 2007.”

The NIGC is an independent regulatory agency established within the Department of the Interior pursuant to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988.

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