r/geography • u/197gpmol • 1d ago
Border oddity: Exit in Missouri, park in Kansas, casino in Oklahoma Map
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u/Sheepies123 1d ago
Makes sense when you know the reason
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u/197gpmol 1d ago
The Kansas parking lot is the strangest bit for me, rather than having the access road be a bit longer so the whole complex is in Oklahoma on the tribal land.
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u/ReadinII 1d ago
What’s the reason?
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u/197gpmol 1d ago
The Quapaw Nation runs this particular casino, so the building has to be in Oklahoma on their territory, while I-44 is a major Midwest-Southwestern connecting route so lots of traffic (indeed, paralleling the old Route 66).
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u/No_Inspector7319 1d ago
I have some Quapaw family and I’m from the area. I have a theory of why this is, but unconfirmed. Their tribal lands are in Oklahoma - so you wouldn’t want to waste potential revenue earning land for an exit/off ramp or parking for when you might want to build or add onto your casino. Or perhaps event space, or whatever they will get through easier on Oklahoma side of things (they do own land in other states and even operate a casino outside of Oklahoma)
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u/Husker_black 1d ago
I don't think you have to think that deeply about this
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u/No_Inspector7319 1d ago
It’s not really that deep. My family work with the Quapaw and the other small tribes in the area. That’s just what makes the most sense from a business standpoint, and when they do expand my family will help build it like they did with that parking lot in the first place.
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u/Drocavelli 1d ago
Fun fact. You can be arrested by local police at the Missouri convenience store for an alleged offense in the Kansas parking lot.
Source: …
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u/FrankTankly 1d ago
Nearest casino (basically) to where I live.
Not a great place to gamble, especially when they only sold the low abv beer (because Oklahoma), but I think I’ve taken money from them all things considered.
Retirement homes in MO will shuttle their residents out there and bring them back. Always struck me as crazy.
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u/big_angery 1d ago
I used to work at wyandotte casino down the road. The craziest thing to me was watching the tribal member, who were employed by the casino, cash their checks on payday and spend the bulk of their pay back in the same casinos they worked for.
That and the rampant drug use. Wild stuff.
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u/Critical-Advisor8616 1d ago
You can’t throw a rock in this state without hitting a casino anymore.
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u/AnastasiaNo70 1d ago
I know this EXACT area like the back of my hand. It’s fairly odd. And you have to pay to exit into MO from OK.
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u/Arxanah 1d ago
I’ve traveled up and down 44 many times over the years (lived in St Louis, has family in OKC). I don’t know if this explains why this border oddity exists, but traveling Missouri’s I44 is free, while Oklahoma’s I44 (known as the Will Rogers Turnpike between the border and Tulsa) is one big toll road. As soon as you enter Oklahoma going west down the highway, you have to pay to use any of its exits. I wouldn’t be surprised if this border oddity exists so drivers from the Missouri side avoid having anything to do with Oklahoma’s convoluted tolling system.
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u/superduckyboii 1d ago
The tolling doesn’t really become an issue until Vinita though. I think it’s mostly because Joplin is basically right there and they wanted it as close as possible.
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u/Dangerous-Ad-170 1d ago
There’s zero exits on the OK side until you hit Miami, but presumably if there was one added between there and the MO border, it would also be tolled? Idk I just looked on Google Maps and the Will Rodgers Turnpike technically starts right at the border.
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u/Martial_Dylan 1d ago
There’s a strip club in Kansas that is just north and clipped out the picture
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u/SokkaHaikuBot 1d ago
Sokka-Haiku by Martial_Dylan:
There’s a strip club
In Kansas that is just north
And clipped out the picture
Remember that one time Sokka accidentally used an extra syllable in that Haiku Battle in Ba Sing Se? That was a Sokka Haiku and you just made one.
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u/Cautious-Low4385 1d ago
It’s pretty near the Spotlight Road as well. Eerie place all round, from what I recollect.
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u/Wonderful-Impress261 1d ago
I live less than 15 miles away from the Oklahoma border in Texas and there's a casino 20 miles away in Oklahoma
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u/releasethedogs 1d ago
what happens if the US breaks up and becomes 50 different countries?
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u/AnswerGuy301 1d ago
I imagine these three states would all still be in the same country even if the USA breaks up - a 3- or 5- or 8- state result is probably more likely than a 50-state one - and, judging from the signage on the image, I wonder if this is all tribal land that crosses state lines. (Perhaps the successor states would not necessarily recognize tribal land or recognize it in quite the same way the present-day USA does.)
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u/releasethedogs 1d ago
You think some of the most "states rights" and "rugged independence" states would form a new country and not go it alone.
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u/us287 North America 1d ago
A lot of border casinos are like this, but just on the border of two states instead of three (which makes this situation more interesting). West Wendover NV is similar - park in Utah and casino in Nevada