The $600 million expansion at the Choctaw Casino & Resort in Durant, Oklahoma will open to the public on Friday, August 6. The 300,000-square-foot, 21-story Sky Tower will offer a gaming floor with 40 new poker tables and more than 3,300 slots, increasing the total to 136 tables and more than 7,200 slot machines. In addition, visitors will find 1,000 new hotel rooms, bringing the total to 1,717, plus six restaurants, 11 bars and two pools in a 3-acre setting.
Officials said the expansion will create 1,200 new jobs for Oklahomans and North Texans. About half of those jobs have been filled. Some of them offer a $1,000 sign-on bonus.
The expansion is targeted to reach visitors in nearby states. Choctaw Assistant General Manager Wendy Carter said, “We have purposely designed our new expansion to appeal to all guests in the nearby states of Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas by providing an elevated resort-style gaming experience within a short distance from home.”
Choctaw Casino and the Chickasaw Nation’s Winstar World Casino and Resort both are about 80 miles from downtown Dallas. Both advertise heavily on billboards throughout the area. Choctaw officials said about two-thirds of its visitors live in Dallas-Fort Worth; Texans represent 80 percent of all patrons.
The new Choctaw tower broke ground in 2019. Carter said the main reason for the tower expansion was consumer demand. The project also brought opportunities to elevate the guest experience, Carter said. She noted hotel occupancy rates and demand for gaming were increasing prior to Covid-19 and now are on the rebound as infection rates slow and more people are getting vaccinated. “We are excited to see the property fulfill the demand,” Carter said. Choctaw closed March 16 and reopened with Covid-19 protocols on June 1, 2020.
Choctaw has offered vaccinations to its guests and staff and their families as one way to safeguard against the spread of Covid-19. Carter stated, “We do feel confident that we are taking the steps to keep the business healthy and open.”
Carter said prior to the pandemic, Choctaw tried to avoid booking weekend conferences and weddings. However, thanks to the expansion, Choctaw expects to attract more weddings and weekend conferences for extended weekend stays. “We believe that our constraint before was the number of available guest rooms, so we added 1,000, and that should help us attract much higher attendance rates for conferences and things of that nature,” Carter said.
She also noted, “The pandemic dropped game revenue for the year by over 30 percent year over year. It impacts nearly two million jobs across the country and the small businesses they support.” Choctaw and other tribes pay fees to Oklahoma based on gaming revenue. In fiscal 2020, those fees fell 16.6 percent to $123.6 million, the first decline since 2014. Choctaw contributed $23 million to that total.
The Choctaw Casino opened in 2006. The tribe has more than 200,000 members. Last year it operated on a $1.9 billion annual fiscal budget. Profits from its businesses provide educational programs, health services and job opportunities.
