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Cherokee Nation CEO reports gaming softness, federal contracting slowdown and diversification strategy
Summary
CEO Chuck Garrett told the Executive and Finance Committee on Feb. 27 that gaming revenue is softening across the portfolio, federal contracting awards are timing‑constrained by agency disruptions, and the Nation is pursuing diversification and targeted acquisitions; he also reported workforce composition figures.
CEO Chuck Garrett reported to the Cherokee Nation Executive and Finance Committee on Feb. 27, 2025, that the tribe’s gaming operations are experiencing a period of softer demand while federal contracting activity is delayed by disruptions inside customer agencies.
"We're seeing it's softening right now, across our portfolio," Garrett said of the gaming business, adding that seasonality and tax-refund timing influence customer visits. He told the committee he met with Aristocrat, a global gaming‑equipment manufacturer, to discuss industry trends and that publicly traded operators are reporting declines of roughly 5 percent in recent results.
On federal contracting, Garrett said agencies that are the Nation’s customers are "largely disrupted" and that choices by contracting officers and shifting federal priorities have slowed the steady flow of new awards. He said the organization has received very few stop-work orders but has not yet seen the usual pipeline of contract awards for the time of year.
Garrett also noted legal developments affecting the Nation’s business footprint: "I was in Little Rock yesterday, meeting with our lobbying team, legislators, our legal team, preparing for the end of the month, we'll have a bench trial at the Eastern District Of Arkansas. A 3 day bench trial that I think will, we're very prepared for." The transcript records his description of the pending bench trial but does not include further legal filings or dates beyond "end of the month."
Addressing strategy, Garrett said the Nation’s diversification across gaming and federal contracting dampens risk and that leadership has spent three years identifying industries for expansion, mostly via acquisition because it is faster than building new capability.
Garrett provided workforce figures for Cherokee Nation businesses: "A few days ago, 9,560 jobs, at C and B, just slightly over 61% of those jobs where we can legally exert, preference. 61% of those are Cherokee jobs. Another 6% or a total of 67 and a half percent are native jobs." The transcript presents those percentages as the CEO's summary of workforce composition.
Garrett closed by telling the committee leadership will "keep an eye on" revenue headwinds and recommended continued prudence in expense management.
