Prineville, Ore. – State regulators have confirmed that the Horseshoe Tavern, operated by Triangle C Investments LLC, was penalized earlier this year for failing to maintain workers’ compensation insurance for more than a year and remains under scrutiny for continued noncompliance.
Oregon Lottery officials also confirmed the business had its agreement terminated in April after failing to remit payments on multiple occasions.
According to Mark Peterson, Public Information and Communications Director for the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services (DCBS), the agency’s Workers’ Compensation Division completed an investigation in March 2025 after receiving a cancellation notice from the tavern’s insurer the previous year.
“The investigation found that the employer did not have workers’ compensation insurance from March 7, 2024, to March 28, 2025,” Peterson said in a statement to the Prineville Review. “The division ordered the employer to pay a $7,397 civil penalty.”
It was not clear how much money the business may have saved by not providing the required coverage for its employees. DCBS confirmed no payments had been made on the penalty.
The Horseshoe Tavern, located in downtown Prineville, has been the subject of growing controversy in recent months, with former workers and even community members raising concerns over employee pay and treatment. On Wednesday, the Prineville Review reported on the tavern’s struggles, as well as disputes over unpaid wages and the loss of workers’ compensation coverage.
Those revelations only came after the Prineville Review started making inquiries to understand the sudden closure of the business late last week, which followed questions from readers initially expressing they were disappointed at the sudden reported closure.
The civil penalty stems from Oregon’s requirements that all employers carry workers’ compensation insurance to cover potential workplace injuries. State law allows regulators to levy fines and order businesses to cease operations until they comply.
Peterson told the Prineville Review earlier today that a new investigation had already been in progress, as the company had still not obtained coverage, ignoring the requirements to obtain coverage even after the conclusion of the DCBS investigation and final order back in late March.
“As of Aug. 28, 2025, the employer still does not have workers’ compensation insurance,” said Peterson. “[A] reinvestigation of the employer is already in progress.”
Peterson had originally stated on Wednesday that DCBS may be looking to reopen an investigation, but confirmed this morning that DCBS investigators had already been reinvestigating the business for the continued non-compliance.
It remains unclear what further enforcement action the state might take if the business continues to operate without coverage. According to its owner, Chris Powell, the closure is not permanent, but she declined Wednesday to share any information or respond to the allegations regarding labor violations and
We reached out again to Powell yesterday, but have yet to hear back. Shelly Colatte, the original poster of the defamation warnings in response to our efforts seeking to speak with any patrons or employees before our original story, contacted the Prineville Review early yesterday, demanding we remove any reference to her name since we didn’t name every other person who had commented.
After explaining we would not edit the story, as it accurately reflected her having posted what was a proactive warning, Colatte promptly threatened legal action and stated she would be calling her attorney before abruptly hanging up. Colatte is reportedly good friends with Powell, according to multiple former employees.
Since our original reporting, multiple former employees have come forward and spoken with us only under the condition of anonymity, as they feared retribution that could impact their ability to seek new employment in town.
Those same employees have further backed the allegations being made related to pay issues for a number of recent and even past employees. One source said they had not received at least two of their final paychecks. They did indicate they have been in contact with Oregon BOLI, and claimed that the withheld paychecks also include tips made via credit and debit cards.
They also alleged that Powell’s company owes the Oregon Lottery tens of thousands of dollars, which led lottery officials to remove the machines earlier this year.
Melanie Mesaros, a spokesperson for the Oregon Lottery, confirmed that the tavern’s machines were disabled on March 25th, 2025, after non-payment issues. On April 2nd, lottery officials provided notice that they were terminating the agreement.
“Under the terms of Paragraph 16.2 of your Retailer Contract with the Oregon State lottery (the Lottery), we hereby provide notice of contract termination for Triangle C Investments, LLC doing business as Horseshoe Tavern in Prineville, effective immediately,” said Oregon Lottery Director Michael Wells in the termination notice.
While rumors indicated that the Horseshoe Tavern was looking to bring back lottery machines soon, it was confirmed by the Oregon Lottery that the business would have to wait until at least April of 2026.
“Per our administrative rule, a business would need to wait a year before applying to become a retailer again. They also need to have a liquor license to sell lottery games,” Mesaros told the Prineville Review on Friday.
Mesaros also confirmed to the Prineville Review that Triangle C Investments has yet to pay nearly $10,000 owed to the Oregon Lottery, which has recently been turned over to collections.
Mr. Alderman is an investigative journalist specializing in government transparency, non-profit accountability, consumer protection, and is a subject mater expert on Oregon’s public records and meetings laws. As a former U.S. Army Military Police Officer, he brings a disciplined investigative approach to his reporting that has frequently exposed ethics violations, financial mismanagement, and transparency failures by public officials and agencies.
