Cherokee Nation Businesses announced its Cherokee Casino Roland near the Arkansas border will be replaced with a new facility including an 87,000 square foot casino with 850 games, a bar and stage; the existing casino has 600 electronic games and six table games. The complex also will offer a six-story, 125-room hotel, convention space, swimming pool and smoke shop.
Cherokee Nation Business Chief Executive Shawn Slaton said, “It’s time to update those facilities. It’s going to be a state-of-the-art place, something the nation and Oklahoma will be proud of. It will allow them to continue to provide top-quality entertainment opportunities. Hopefully it will become a destination stop for people traveling down I-40.” Slaton said the current building will be demolished when the new complex is completed.
He added the tribe may develop 50 acres at the Roland site for retail, plus 300 acres in Sallisaw, where the tribe also operates a casino. Slaton said the tribe also is considering expanding Cherokee Nation Entertainment’s flagship Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Tulsa. “Certainly we want to stay on top of the market in the Tulsa community, so I don’t think we’re done yet at Hard Rock. As far as what we might be doing in the future, I would say we’re not going to be sitting back,” Slaton said. More than 3 million people are expected to visit Hard Rock Tulsa this year.
In other Cherokee Nation gaming news, the Tribal Council recently appointed three Tribal Councilors to the Cherokee Nation Gaming Commission under advisory positions, to make sure the CNGC operates under regulations set by the National Indian Gaming Commission and the tribe’s compact with the state of Oklahoma.
Also in Oklahoma,140 Angus cattle settled in at their new home on a 160-acre ranch north of the Downstream Casino Resort. The Quapaw Tribe purchased the cattle from the Spur Ranch west of Vinita, one of the oldest ranches in Oklahoma. In about 18 months, steak from the herd will be served at the casino’s Red Oak Steakhouse.
Chris Roper, who heads the tribe’s new agricultural program, said, “We’re getting control of the quality of the meat we use. We’ll know what’s in it, and we’ll know where it comes from.” He said the cattle carry the Quapaw brand of three feathers and a staff. In addition, the tribe also maintains a herd of buffalo, which also will become part of the casino restaurant menu, Roper stated. And in the future, “Chairman John Berrey is looking into setting up a bunch of beehives,” he said.
