COWETA, Okla. — The city of Coweta is gearing up for a massive economic boom, but the people who live there aren't sold on the Muscogee Creek Nation's casino moving in.
Residents like Debra Fury tell 2 News the reason they love living in Coweta is because of the small town feel. She and her neighbors fear the casino could change all of that.
“I like small towns, you know, and where you know everybody," she said. "That’s how Coweta used to be, but it’s got to where more people have been coming in, leaving Broken Arrow, coming to this area and we don’t know them.”
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The $100 million investment is set to bring a hotel and restaurant in tow, providing at least 250 jobs for the community.
That growth, though, is pushing people like Fury away.
“I don’t think it’s going to help us, I really don’t, I think it’s going to cause more problems to have a casino in Coweta than anything,” said Fury. “It’s going to bring in a lot of different kind of people. There’s going to be good people, but it’s going to bring in some bad people to.”
The casino will reside right off SH-51 and 131st St., but right across that street are people's homes. The location also worries Fury, as she said that busy highway is notorious for accidents.
Fury and other's are afraid their otherwise quiet community will become unrecognizable after their new neighbor opens it's doors.
2 News asked Fury if she ever considered moving, because of how against the casino she is.
“Well we talked about that," she said. "We thought maybe it might be time for us to go ahead and leave, you know sell our house, and go further where a small town is like Haskell or Porter, out that way.”
She said a number of her neighbors are also apprehensive.
We asked Fury what she would like to see leaders do to make things safer and stay on top of any changes the casino may bring to the community.
“I know we got some new police cars, so I hope they’re going to hire more police officers to have on that property and in the downtown area to keep it safe for the kids, because at night time that’s when people go to the casino and you never know what’s going on,” said Fury.
2 News took those concerns to Coweta's City Manager Julie Casteen.
She was unavailable for an interview, but did answer some of our questions.
In an emailed statement, Casteen said:
The MCN provides extensive security around their gaming properties. In speaking with city managers for other communities where they have built casinos, the change in the crime rate has been minimal.
I was impressed with the statement made by one of the gaming officials when this concern was raised; he stated that his intent is always to make their facilities a place where he would feel comfortable sending his wife to without him. The members of the MCN are no different than our citizens; they live in Coweta, and they want it to remain a safe, low-crime environment.
Still, Fury believes things are changing for the worse.
"There’s a lot of old people, elder people in here, like myself, and we like it quiet.”
The casino is set to open in the spring of 2026.
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