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The Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas has officially broken ground on its 95-acre Naskila Casino Resort project in Leggett, marking a major expansion of its gaming operations in East Texas.
The ceremony brought together tribal leaders, members, and casino employees to celebrate the long-anticipated start of construction
“It’s been a long way,” said Vice-Chairwoman Nita Battise, as reported by the Dallas Morning News. “Keep in mind, we had all these obstacles going against us, but we are reminded that we are resilient people and we will move forward, and this is what we did.”
When completed in 2028, the development is expected to feature a 685,000-square-foot casino resort complex with a large gaming floor housing about 3,400 electronic gaming machines.
Plans also include a multi-story, 366-room hotel, a resort-style pool area, and a full event and conference center. A grand ballroom designed to host up to 1,000 guests is expected to attract conventions, special events, and regional gatherings.
Texas leaders repeatedly opposed the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe’s attempts to open a casino on its 11,000-acre reservation in Livingston, located about 73 miles northeast of Houston in East Texas.
That changed following a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, which affirmed that Texas could not impose its regulations on reservation gaming, which is instead overseen at the federal level.
The Alabama-Coushatta Tribe is one of three federally recognized tribes in Texas operating gaming facilities that feature electronic bingo-style machines permitted under federal law. The others include the Traditional Kickapoo Tribe of Texas in Eagle Pass and the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo in El Paso.
The tribe currently operates Naskila Casino on its reservation in Livingston, which is about 10 miles from the new Leggett construction site. The existing casino is expected to continue operations during construction.
Beginning in August, the tribe also plans to open a temporary gaming facility adjacent to the new resort site. That interim casino will operate until the permanent resort opens in late 2028.
It remains unclear whether the original Naskila Casino in Livingston will continue operating once the new resort is completed.
Among those present during the groundbreaking ceremony was Jonodev Chaudhuri, the former chair of the National Indian Gaming Commission, the federal agency that oversees tribal gaming nationwide.
Livingston Mayor Judy Cochran said the casino benefits the local economy, mainly because most visitors come from outside the area and spend money locally.
“The end result of people coming here is that they stay in Livingston,” she said. “They stay in Livingston. They eat in Livingston. They stay overnight here. They spend money here.”
She added that the casino is highly significant for both the city and its residents.
The tribe has also become one of the region’s major employers. In Livingston alone, about 1,000 permanent jobs—collectively generating $34.5 million in annual wages—are linked to the operations at Naskila, representing over 15% of private-sector wages in Polk County, according to a recent economic impact study.