Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River Casino & Hotel in Murphy, North Carolina, owned by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, recently opened a new $13 million, 41,000 square foot entertainment area. The first addition to the casino resort since it opened in September 2015, the expansion created 75 new jobs. General Manager Lumpy Lambert said, “It’s about 41,000 square feet of additional space that we’re looking forward to. The teams are doing a really good job with the expansion.”
The new venue will be managed by UltraStar, the same company that manages a similar, larger facility that opened at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort in September 2017. Murphy’s UltraStar Multi-tainment Center will offer a 225-seat restaurant, 16 bowling lanes, 25 arcade games, two bars and 55 gaming units plus some bar top games like video poker. It also will include several dedicated parking spaces, including self parking, valet parking and 12 Tesla charging stations.
Valley River also broke ground on May 29 on a $2.36 million project to install a 700-kilowatt solar farm on the property. Lambert said he expects the solar farm to supply 8-10 percent of the casino’s power once the project is completed in late 2018. “It’s more about starting to migrate more into some of the solar initiatives. We’re excited about that project,” Lambert said
Also in the future, the property will develop a master plan to more strategically determine how and when the casino should grow, Lambert said. “That’s huge, just trying to make sure that we address the needs of the business and that the footprint that we have here maximizes to the best of our ability. It’s going to be one of the next projects that we engage with, getting an architect involved to help us with that master planning so we make good, smart decisions going forward,” he said.
Meanwhile, Lambert noted, “All indicators and all metrics that we look at are very solid. We’re very proud of the team and the performance that we’re experiencing now.” He said total visitation has surpassed 1 million, with 1.1 million visits logged at the end of the casino’s first year. Hotel occupancy has been at 97 percent for the fiscal year-to-date, which ends September 30, Lambert said.
The casino also has had an impact on the town of Murphy, with 1,627 residents in 2010 according to the U.S. Census. Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce Director Meridith Jorgensen said, “We know that definitely visitors have increased here. Our hotel/motel sales tax has increased. Our general sales tax has increased. We know there’s more people coming to the area, staying in the area, buying in the area. I would say overall it’s been a really positive thing for Cherokee County.”
The property employs more than 900 people, making it the largest employer in the county.
