With Oklahoma's unpredictable tornado season quickly approaching, Cherokee Casinos are taking every precaution to keep guests safe.

Cherokee Casinos across northeast Oklahoma have prepared their security staff with specialized FEMA and meteorology training. This highly specialized training is normally saved only for municipal entities, and not mandated for businesses.

Cherokee Casino is the only business in the area to take part in this intense training, which allows security staff to anticipate and effectively respond as soon as a major or weather-related disaster occurs, such as a tornado, at any one of its seven casino locations.

“When you operate a business of this size with the influx of people we have day in and day out, it is necessary to have the best safety and security possible,” said David Stewart, CEO of Cherokee Nation Enterprises, which operates Cherokee Casinos.

Cherokee Casino Resort, Tulsa, sees an average daily headcount of 6,000 guests per day, plus more than 1,000 employees. At other Cherokee Casino locations, guest and employee counts can surpass the community's own population on any given day.

Daily security staff training and frequent crisis scenario re-enactments have proven successful: Cherokee Casino security staff can evacuate guests and employees outside or to inside safer areas in as little as eight minutes.

"The FEMA training prepares us for how to operate in any crisis situation, so when those situations occur, our system and staff mesh with other emergency workers, like the local fire or federal emergency management departments," said Guss Jones, security training manager, Cherokee Casinos.

Another major advantage Cherokee Casinos have is that the staff has trained specialists who can decipher real time weather data through the National Center for Atmospheric Research, which is what meteorologists use to predict weather patterns. This online data enables the security staff's specialists to predict weather trends several days in advance, including tornados.

"We are able to pinpoint the weather exactly to our locations and can plan three to four days out. This extra time allows us to alert management and answer any questions and cover any obstacles that may arise in advance," said Bil Caraway, security manager, Cherokee Casino Resort. "Like the ice storm two years ago, we were prepared four days before it happened."

Cherokee Casinos' security teams also include many emergency medical technicians with qualifications ranging from first responders through paramedic.

Cherokee Casino Resort is located at Interstate 44 and 193rd E. Avenue. Find out more by visiting http://www.cherokeecasnio.com/.