MGM Resorts International is selling the operating rights to its Gold Strike Hotel & Casino to the Cherokee Nation. The $450 million cash deal was announced June 9. Gold Strike is located in Tunica, Mississippi.

It’s the latest large-scale cash transaction between MGM and a tribal gaming entity. Late last year, MGM agreed to sell the operations of the Mirage Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas to Hard Rock International (HRI) for $1.075 billion in cash. HRI plans to build a guitar-shaped hotel on the Las Vegas Strip. The Seminole Tribe is the parent entity of HRI.

“Gold Strike is a wonderful property with a bright future ahead,” MGM CEO Bill Hornbuckle, said in a statement. “Strategically, though, we decided to narrow our focus in Mississippi to a single resort — Beau Rivage…”

The Beau Rivage Hotel & Casino is located in Biloxi.

The Gold Strike transaction to Cherokee Nation Entertainment Gaming Holdings LLC is scheduled to close in the first half of 2023.

The Cherokee Nation, located in present-day Oklahoma, is the largest tribe in the U.S. with more than 390,000 citizens worldwide.