Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas Breaks Ground on Texas Casino Resort

^{The Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas broke ground on the Naskila Casino Resort on Thursday, with the 685,000-square-foot facility expected to open in 2028. (Photo: courtesy of Deep East Texas Council of Governments and Economic Development District)}

The Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas broke ground on a casino in Leggett on June 18, as part of a ceremony celebrating the start of construction on the future Naskila Casino Resort.

When the resort is completed, which is expected to happen in 2028, it will become the fourth tribal casino in the state of Texas.

Alabama-Coushatta Finally Realizing Casino Dreams

The Alabama-Coushatta are building a 685,000-square-foot resort casino that will include 3,400 electronic gaming machines, a 366-room hotel, and a conference center.

Currently, the Alabama-Coushatta operate Naskila Casino on the tribe’s reservation in Livingston, around 20 miles from Leggett. That facility operates only electronic bingo machines, and the move to build a full-scale casino has taken significant time and effort.

For years, political leaders in Texas had long opposed the tribe’s efforts to open a casino. A 2022 Supreme Court ruling found that Texas overstepped its authority over tribal nations, including a condition that tribes must choose not to open casinos to receive federal recognition.

That opened the door for multiple tribes to open casinos in the state, a list that will now include the Alabama-Coushatta, the Traditional Kickapoo Tribe of Texas, and the Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo.

“It’s been a long way, baby,” Alabama-Coushatta Vice-Chairwoman Nita Battise told the Dallas Morning News at the groundbreaking ceremony. “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.”

Visitors looking to enjoy something more akin to a traditional casino won’t have to wait until 2028. The tribe plans to begin offering expanded gambling in a temporary facility next to the construction site beginning in August 2026.

Texas Tribes Have a Leg Up on Commercial Operators

Among the many dignitaries in attendance for the groundbreaking was Livingston Mayor Judy Cochran, who praised the Alabama-Coushatta’s contributions to the local economy.

“The end result of people coming here is that they stay in Livingston,” Cochran said during the ceremony. “They stay in Livingston. They eat in Livingston. They stay overnight here. They spend money here.”

The expansion of tribal gaming in Texas comes as Las Vegas Sands and other commercial operators are pushing to bring commercial casinos to the state, though those efforts have seen very little success so far. Some municipalities are preparing for the eventuality by working with operators, and even the Astrodome has been pitched as a potential casino site.

The new Alabama-Coushatta casino will expand the impact of tribal gaming in Texas. To learn more about how Native American tribes are leaving an indelible impact on communities across North America, be sure to join in our celebration of Tribal Gaming Month here at Casinos.com.