Harrah's Cherokee Casino Resort is a
casino
A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live enterta ...
and
hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...
on the
Qualla Boundary
The Qualla Boundary or The Qualla is territory held as a land trust by the United States government for the federally recognized Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, who reside in western North Carolina. The area is part of the large historic Chero ...
in
Cherokee, North Carolina
Cherokee ( chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, translit=Tsalagi) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Swain and Jackson counties in Western North Carolina, United States, within the Qualla Boundary land trust. Cherokee is located in the Oconaluftee River ...
. It is owned by the
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI), (Cherokee: ᏣᎳᎩᏱ ᏕᏣᏓᏂᎸᎩ, ''Tsalagiyi Detsadanilvgi'') is a federally recognized Indian Tribe based in Western North Carolina in the United States. They are descended from the sm ...
(EBCI) and operated by
Caesars Entertainment
Caesars Entertainment, Inc., formerly Eldorado Resorts, Inc., is an American hotel and casino entertainment company founded and based in Reno, Nevada that operates more than 50 properties. Eldorado Resorts acquired Caesars Entertainment Corporat ...
. It is located on the site of the former Frontier Land theme park.
History
Proposed in 1994, soon after a compact between the State of North Carolina and the EBCI to establish a casino with
Class III gaming, Harrah's Cherokee Casino was opened on November 13, 1997. Owned by the EBCI and managed by
Harrah's Entertainment
Harrah's Entertainment (later named Caesars Entertainment Corporation, previously The Promus Companies) was an American casino and hotel company founded in Reno, Nevada, and based in Paradise, Nevada, that operated over 50 properties and seven ...
, the casino offered 24-hour
video poker
Video poker is a casino game based on five-card draw poker. It is played on a computerized console similar in size to a slot machine.
History
Video poker first became commercially viable when it became economical to combine a television-like moni ...
and gaming machines that was legal for those 18 years-of-age and older. The casino was a proven success from day one and has greatly improved living standards on the Qualla Boundary, including a new school, a hospital, public housing, and upgrades to public safety services such as police, fire, and EMS. Also, part of the casino's revenue is distributed directly to all members of the EBCI, in a form of
basic income
Universal basic income (UBI) is a social welfare proposal in which all citizens of a given population regularly receive an unconditional transfer payment, that is, without a means test or need to work. It would be received independently of ...
.
[ In 2001, an amendment to the compact was made that raised the legal gambling age from 18 to 21.
In 2002, the first renovation was completed, which included an expansion of of additional gaming space, of convention space and a 252-room hotel. In 2005, the second renovation was completed, which included an additional 15-story tower with approximately 320 rooms.
In 2009, alcohol sales at the tribe casino was approved by voters, with the first sales starting September; however legal issues with the state delayed sales on the gaming floor until December. In 2020, the EBCI passed the brunch bill, which allowed for alcohol sales to start at 10 a.m., instead of Noon, on Sunday.]
On August 21, 2012, Harrah's Cherokee began offering live table game Table game may refer to:
* Table game (casino), games of chance that are played against the casino and operated by one or more live dealers
* Tables game, a class of board game that includes backgammon
* Tabletop game, games that are normally playe ...
s thanks to an amendment of the compact between the state of North Carolina and the EBCI. Harrah's officials related that around 500 new jobs were created thanks to the addition of live table games.
The third renovation, from 2009-2013 at a cost of $650 million, added a 21-story third tower with approximately 532 rooms and five suites, while also nearly doubling the gaming space to more than . A 3,000-seat events center, opened in 2010, provides an area for trade shows, poker tournaments, and concerts. A full-service spa, open in 2012, and several new shops and restaurants were added, including Ruth's Chris Steak House
Ruth's Chris Steak House is a chain of over 100 steakhouses across the United States, Canada and Mexico. On May 22, 2008, the company underwent rebranding and became part of Ruth's Hospitality Group after its acquisition of Mitchell's Fish Mark ...
, Paula Deen
Paula Ann Hiers Deen (born January 19, 1947) is an American chef, cookbook author, and TV personality. Deen resides in Savannah, Georgia, where she owns and operates The Lady & Sons restaurant and Paula Deen's Creek House with her sons, Jamie ...
's Kitchen and a 600-seat buffet. Designed by Cuningham Group Architecture Inc., with Turner Construction Company as lead general builders of the project. In Summer 2013, Paula Deen's Kitchen was closed, and later rebranded, after Caesars Entertainment Corporation
Harrah's Entertainment (later named Caesars Entertainment Corporation, previously The Promus Companies) was an American casino and hotel company founded in Reno, Nevada, and based in Paradise, Nevada, that operated over 50 properties and seven g ...
cut ties with Paula Deen due to a controversy regarding Deen's admission of using a racial slur in a social media post.
In 2020, because of the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
, Harrah's Cherokee was closed on March 18 as a precautionary measure; on May 18 it was reopened at limited capacity. On August 11, 2021, all visitors and staff were required to show proof of vaccination
Vaccination is the administration of a vaccine to help the immune system develop immunity from a disease. Vaccines contain a microorganism or virus in a weakened, live or killed state, or proteins or toxins from the organism. In stimulat ...
or a negative result from a COVID-19 test
COVID-19 testing involves analyzing samples to assess the current or past presence of SARS-CoV-2. The two main types of tests detect either the presence of the virus or antibodies produced in response to infection. Molecular tests for viral p ...
taken within 72 hours; .
The fourth renovation, from 2018-2021 at a cost of $250 million, added a 19-story fourth tower with approximately 725 rooms and seven suites, a convention center with ballroom, a new two-story, open-air lobby, a new terrace pool and fitness center, and new dining options including Wicked Weed Brewpub and Guy Fieri
Guy Ramsay Fieri (, ; ''né'' Ferry; born January 22, 1968) is an American restaurateur, author, and an Emmy Award winning television presenter. He co-owns three restaurants in California, licenses his name to restaurants in New York City, Las ...
's Cherokee Kitchen + Bar. Also added were two new gaming areas in the casino, including the 34-table World Series of Poker Room and a new sports betting
Sports betting is the activity of predicting sports results and placing a wager on the outcome. The frequency of sports bet upon varies by culture, with the vast majority of bets being placed on association football, American football, basket ...
area, called the Book, which features of television screens. In December 2021, celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay
Gordon James Ramsay (; born ) is a British chef, restaurateur, television personality and writer. His restaurant group, Gordon Ramsay Restaurants, was founded in 1997 and has been awarded 17 Michelin stars overall; it currently holds a tot ...
announced the opening of the first Gordon Ramsay Food Market, which will have full-service dining from breakfast to late-night, in early 2022. Also in the same month, the EBCI passed a bill making Harrah's Cherokee a mostly non-smoking venue.
Frontier Land
Prior to Harrah's Cherokee, the land it now sits on use to be that of a former wild west
The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...
-themed amusement park
An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...
called Frontier Land, from 1964–1982. The park was created by R.B. Coburn, who also built Ghost Town in the Sky
Ghost Town Village (formerly "Ghost Town in the Sky at Ghost Mountain Park") is an abandoned Wild West-themed amusement park in Maggie Valley, North Carolina, United States that is currently, as of October 2019, under contract for possible sale ...
in Maggie Valley
Maggie Valley is a town in Haywood County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,150 at the 2010 census. A popular tourist destination, it is home to Cataloochee Ski Area and the former Ghost Town in the Sky amusement park. Maggie V ...
, and designed by Russell Pearson, a former Disney designer who also developed Frontier City
Frontier City is a western-themed amusement park in Oklahoma City. It is owned by EPR and operated by Six Flags. The park originally opened in 1958. Frontier City is the third-oldest Six Flags park behind Six Flags New England and Six Flags Gre ...
in Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and ...
, Silver Dollar City
Silver Dollar City is a amusement park in Stone County, Missouri, near the cities of Branson and Branson West. The park is located off of Missouri Route 76 on the Indian Point peninsula of Table Rock Lake. Silver Dollar City opened on May 1 ...
in Branson, and Ghost Town in the Sky. The park featured a wood-burning steam train and a gondola
The gondola (, ; vec, góndoła ) is a traditional, flat-bottomed Venetian rowing boat, well suited to the conditions of the Venetian lagoon. It is typically propelled by a gondolier, who uses a rowing oar, which is not fastened to the hull, ...
that would take visitors to the main three sections of the park: Indian Territory, Fort Cherokee (a replica of a frontier stockade
A stockade is an enclosure of palisades and tall walls, made of logs placed side by side vertically, with the tops sharpened as a defensive wall.
Etymology
''Stockade'' is derived from the French word ''estocade''. The French word was derived f ...
), and Deadwood Gulch (an 1860s hardscrabble western town). By the mid-1980s, because of low attendance, the park was renovated and rebranded as a water amusement park called Water World (with unmistakable western touches). In 1986, the park was closed for the last time and abandoned until redevelopment in mid-1990s.
Features and design
Hotel
Harrah's Cherokee has four hotel towers (Creek Tower, Soco Tower, Mountain Tower and the Cherokee) with a total of 1,833 rooms, making Harrah's Cherokee the largest hotel in North Carolina.
Casino
Since the tribe's compact with North Carolina restricts the types of gaming permitted, most of the games offered have significant differences with those found in other casinos. The compact with North Carolina requires games to have an element of skill
A skill is the learned ability to act with determined results with good execution often within a given amount of time, energy, or both. Skills can often be divided into domain-general and domain-specific skills. For example, in the domain of w ...
. For most of the video slot machine
A slot machine (American English), fruit machine (British English) or poker machine (Australian English and New Zealand English) is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers. Slot machines are also known pejoratively a ...
s, this means that after an initial spin of the reels, the player is allowed to lock selected reels in place and spin again, holding reels with valuable symbols in hopes of matching them up with winning symbols on the second spin. (This differs from "regular" slot machines, in which the reels usually spin only once after credits are played, although video poker
Video poker is a casino game based on five-card draw poker. It is played on a computerized console similar in size to a slot machine.
History
Video poker first became commercially viable when it became economical to combine a television-like moni ...
everywhere allows players to hold cards before the second spin.)
The casino now has converted many of their slot machines to "Cherokee Raffle Reels," which require the player to insert their Total Rewards slot card into the machine before playing. This raffle entry is considered to be the second chance to win required by law, and has allowed the casino to phase out many of the "lock-and-roll" style machines for traditional video and reel slot machines.
The tribe reached an agreement with the state on November 25, 2011, to allow live cards at Harrah's Cherokee. The casino began introducing live table games in 2012. As of summer 2014, there are over 100 table games. No-limit hold'em tournaments are run daily, including larger buy-in deep stack tourneys on the weekends. The casino also regularly hosts World Series of Poker circuit events in the Events Center which feature a variety of tournaments and concurrent cash games.
Amenities
The Harrah's Cherokee complex includes a conference center
A convention center (American English; or conference centre in British English) is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typica ...
, a 3,000-seat events center, a Sports book, a workout room, a lobby
Lobby may refer to:
* Lobby (room), an entranceway or foyer in a building
* Lobbying, the action or the group used to influence a viewpoint to politicians
:* Lobbying in the United States, specific to the United States
* Lobby (food), a thick st ...
cafe, and a food court
A food court (in Asia-Pacific also called food hall or hawker centre) is generally an indoor plaza or common area within a facility that is contiguous with the counters of multiple food vendors and provides a common area for self-serve dinner. ...
with restaurants.
See also
* Gambling in North Carolina
*Caesars Southern Indiana
Caesars Southern Indiana (formerly Caesars Indiana and Horseshoe Southern Indiana) is a casino hotel in Southern Indiana. Opened in 1998, it is owned by Vici Properties and operated by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, using the Caesars name ...
*Harrah's Cherokee Valley River
Harrah's Cherokee Valley River is a casino and hotel on the Qualla Boundary in Murphy, North Carolina. It is owned by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) and operated by Caesars Entertainment.
History
Proposed in 2014 and at a cost of $1 ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrah's Cherokee
Native American casinos
Buildings and structures in Swain County, North Carolina
EBCI Holdings
Casinos in North Carolina
Tourist attractions in Swain County, North Carolina
Casino hotels
Hotels in North Carolina
Harrah's Entertainment
1997 establishments in North Carolina
Hotels established in 1997
Native American history of North Carolina