OK Casino Closes Suddenly, Leaving Workers Without Paychecks

A power struggle between factions of the Apache Indian Tribe of Oklahoma has spilled into the operation of an Anadarko Casino operated by the Tribe.

About 60 employees of the Silver Buffalo Casino say they were supposed to get paychecks last Friday. But they haven't gotten those checks.

They say the casino gave them each $200 in cash Monday, but that doesn't come close to covering what is owed to them.

Donnie Cabannis says he's chairman of Oklahoma's Apache Tribe, and that the casino workers are getting stiffed because his rivals have stolen money that was intended for them.

"There's a lot of corruption going on in our casinos now, and we need to take control of that," he said Tuesday.

However, Tribal Administrator Ernest Redbird says Cabannis is no longer the Chairman. And he says Cabannis' claim that money has been stolen is not true.

"I think um there's been miscommunication of money being transferred from one bank to another," he said.

Late Tuesday, we were told those casino workers would finally get their paychecks at 2 p.m. Wednesday afternoon.