Nita Battise, Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas vice chairwoman, left, Donnis Battise, first chief of the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas, Herbert Johnson Jr., second chief, and Rick Sylestine, Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas chairman, right, are shown during the groundbreaking ceremony for the future Naskila Casino Resort in Leggett Thursday, June 18, 2026.
Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle
Shovels broke ground and dirt flew on a 95-acre patch of land belonging to the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas — a historic moment that commemorated the start of construction on the state’s fourth tribal casino.
“It’s been a long way, baby,’’ Alabama-Coushatta Vice-Chairwoman Nita Battise, who was among a line-up of tribal members and casino employees who held shovels to mark the official groundbreaking on Thursday in Leggett.
“Keep in mind, we had all these obstacles going against us,” Battise said. “But we are reminded that we are resilient people and we will move forward and this is what we did.”
Article continues below this ad
When completed in 2028, the new casino resort will house a 685,000-square -foot resort casino with a large gaming floor that includes 3,400 electronic gaming machines, a multi-story 366-room hotel, a resort-style pool complex and an event and conference center.
The event and conference area are expected to include a grand ballroom that will accommodate 1,000 guests and will be designed to attract conferences, special events and group gatherings from across the region, tribal officials said.
For years, Texas leaders had blocked efforts by the Alabama-Coushatta to open a casino on its 11,000-acre reservation in Livingston, roughly 73 miles northeast of Houston in deep east Texas.
That all changed when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Texas could not impose its regulations on reservation gaming, which is overseen by the federal government.
Article continues below this ad
Today, the Alabama-Coushatta is among three federally-recognized tribes in Texas that operate casinos that house electronic bingo machines, resembling slot machines, allowable under federal law. Besides the Alabama-Coushatta, the Traditional Kickapoo Tribe of Texas in Eagle Pass and the Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo in El Paso operate casinos.
The Alabama-Coushatta currently operates Naskila Casino in a building on its reservation in Livingston, which is about 10 miles from Leggett.
As construction continues in Leggett, Naskila Casino will continue to operate on the tribe’s reservation.
The federal government authorized the tribe’s use of the 95-acre Leggett property, which will house the new Naskila casino resort. It’s unclear if the original Naskila casino in Livingston will continue to operate after the new Naskila casino and resort opens.
Local business owners attribute much of the steady growth in their community to the presence of the Naskila Casino on the reservation of the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas. Last year, the tribal casino was responsible for more than $209 million in annual spending in the local economy, according to an economic impact report.
Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle
Meanwhile, beginning in August, the tribe will offer expanded gaming in a temporary location adjacent to the construction site of the new casino resort.
Article continues below this ad
That temporary casino is expected to continue to operate until the new larger casino resort opens in late 2028.
At least a few hundred people attended Thursday’s groundbreaking, including state and local elected officials, business leaders, tribal members, casino employees and others. Also in attendance was Jonodev Chaudhuri, former chairman of the National Indian Gaming Commission, the federal oversight body that regulates tribal gaming across the nation.
Livingston Mayor Judy Cochran spoke of the boost of the casino to the local economy. The majority of people who visit the casino, she said, are from elsewhere.
”The end result of people coming here is that they stay in Livingston,’’ Cochran said. “They stay in Livingston. They eat in Livingston. They stay overnight here. They spend money here.”
The casino, she said, “means a lot for the city and the citizens.”
Article continues below this ad
The tribe is now a top employer in the region. In Livingston, a total of 1,000 permanent jobs, collectively paying $34.5 million in annual wages — more than 15% of the private sector wages in Polk County, were attributable to the operational impact at Naskila, according to a recent economic impact study.
Matt Celestine, 35, a tribal member of the Alabama-Coushatta, drove as far away as Lufkin, 50 miles north of Leggett, to attend the groundbreaking.
He wouldn’t have missed it, he said.
“My grandfather said he wouldn’t see this moment,” Celestine said. “For this to be manifest today, it’s worth everything.”