Yesterday, the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for the Indigo Sky Casino expansion project, which will see around $34 million spent on upgrades to the facility. Around 30 individuals were in attendance.

In May, the tribe announced their plans for the project, with an expansion of the facility to include 128 new hotel rooms, a larger dining room and kitchen area plus a ballroom that will double as an event center.

Glenna Wallace is the Eastern Shawnee Chief who commented on the groundbreaking ceremony by stating the day is one of those top 10 days. Wallace was in tears describing how the tribe has come so far and proud to be a group that does the work themselves. According to miamiok.com, Wallace stated that 50% of the profits from the casino goes to the tribe.

Money earned by the casino is used to help the elders of the tribe and provide a quality scholarship program. The scholarships are sent out across the United States as the tribe is spread out, with more than 10% of the tribe enrolled in a college program.

Improvements to the casino will include five different rooms in the ballroom/event center, with seating for as many as 600 individuals. The restaurant will be made bigger to be able to hold more people comfortably. The restaurant currently offers a popular buffet but the area is small. Seating for 100 more people will be added in the area behind the restaurant where parking is currently located.

Currently, the Indigo Sky Casino has three food areas, two bars, a hotel with 117 guest rooms, a swimming pool, over 1,200 gaming machines, poker, bingo and off-track betting.