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By RHONDA ROSS
Traveler Staff Writer

The coming of the Native Lights Casino has been touted for over a year. There have been more false starts about its opening than that of the Japanese Beef Market.

A lot of people thought it was finally going to happen on Friday. Radio spots were announcing that the casino was "now open."

But a couple who drove from Augusta to gamble ended up in a wreck north of the casino instead of dropping coins inside.

"We were waiting for the casino to open," Florence Mason said. "We thought they'd be open at 2 p.m. and then we were told it would be 4."

Florence and her husband, Alan, of Augusta, were involved in a collision that caused minor injuries at about 4 p.m. on U.S. 77 near the entrance to the Chilocco Indian School.

The Masons, in a white 2004 Dodge Durango, were parked on the east side of the road, waiting for the casino to open; Alan Mason was driving. He started to pull onto U.S. 77 to head to the casino.

"We started to cross. I didn't see the 'car'," Florence Mason said, referring to the other vehicle involved in the crash. She wasn't sure if her husband saw it either.

The other vehicle, a maroon 2000 Dakota Dodge Ram, was driven by Wanda Barker of Ark City; her husband Jim was a passenger. They were heading north, coming home after a trip to the Kaw smokeshop to buy cigarettes.

Wanda Barker said she braked hard and tried to swerve when she realized that the other vehicle was "going to keep on coming." The Ram hit the Durango near the rear door of the driver's side, pushing it back until it was in the Chilocco School's driveway, facing east. The Ram came to rest in the middle of the highway, once again facing north.

Jim Barker suffered lacerations to his hand. He has a colostomy and only one lung and, initially, was having trouble breathing. He was transported to the hospital, but his wife said she was told he was going to be fine. Wanda Barker received minor scratches to her arm.

The Masons were banged up as well. Alan Mason received a bump on the head and Florence had a bruised knee and left elbow. Mainly, they were both shaken up.

"We've been mowing and mowing," Florence Mason said. "I said (to Alan), 'Let's get away.'"

Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Justin Barney investigated the accident, along with three other patrolmen. Barney said the cause of the accident was "not yet determined," though it was evident that the Mason vehicle "did not clear traffic."

He estimated that each vehicle received about $5,000 damage and he did not believe that speed was a factor.

The Masons were visibly upset to learn that the Native Lights Casino did not open at all on Friday, and the Barkers saw their weekend plans more or less ruined.

"I'm not going anywhere this weekend," Wanda Barker said. "I'm going to stay home."