I always heard they were run by The Mob. The Indians were the facade.
Ain’t no mob here.
Several years ago, I watched the Cherokee casino advertisements on TV. This was for Oklahoma.
We visited friends in California, and saw the exact same advertisements on Cali TV. Only the names of the casinos changed.
A few years back, there was an attempt to legalize gambling in Arkansas, specifically Hot Springs. All the churches came out against it, and the anti-gambling adds showed a polish and professional look. The vote went against gambling.
Later,it was found those professional made anti-gambling advertisements were paid for, not by the churches, but by casinos in Mississippi, and possibly Oklahoma which did not want the competition from Arkansas casinos.