Subsidiary of Chickasaw tribe's casino partner buys land near casino

THACKERVILLE, Okla. (AP) _ For the third time this year, a subsidiary of the Chickasaw Nation's casino partner is buying a large tract of land near the tribe's Winstar Casino. <br/><br/>MegaBingo

Monday, November 29th 2004, 5:37 am

By: News On 6

THACKERVILLE, Okla. (AP) _ For the third time this year, a subsidiary of the Chickasaw Nation's casino partner is buying a large tract of land near the tribe's Winstar Casino.

MegaBingo Inc. bought 216 acres Oct. 21 from Joseph and Kelli Neave for nearly $1.4 million, according to Love County land records. The land is about three miles north of Texas near I-35.

The purchase propels expectations of a gambling destination resort.

The Chickasaw Nation is building a motel next door and has discussed building two larger hotels and a golf course. Tribal spokeswoman Robyn Elliott said the tribe is still developing its plans for the land and isn't ready to disclose them.

A golf course or some other attraction would make WinStar the state's second multifaceted casino resort.

The Cherokee Nation recently opened a resort along I-44 at Catoosa that includes a seven-story hotel, a golf course and 80,000 square feet of gambling.

WinStar opened in July 2003 with 1,100 electronic gambling machines. A recent addition increased that number to 2,400, far more than any other Oklahoma casino.

MegaBingo's parent company, Multimedia Games Inc., financed the WinStar's construction through an agreement that guarantees 80% of the casino's gaming floor space to Multimedia's electronic machines.

The company leases its machines to the casino and receives a percentage of the net-win, or the amount each machine makes after paying winners.