The 9 million, 1.2 million square foot expansion at the River Spirit Resort & Casino in Tulsa, Oklahoma is taking shape, with the new River Spirit entrance, Margaritaville restaurant and bar, casino and convention center scheduled for completion August 25, according to Muscogee (Creek) Nation Casinos Chief Executive Officer Pat Crofts. A 27-story, 483-room hotel, covered in blue glass, plus a 2,500-seat theater will open in mid-December. He added the project created 800 construction jobs and will offer 1,000 permanent new jobs.
Crofts noted Margaritaville Chief Executive Officer John Cohlan was skeptical when Crofts first proposed bringing a Margaritaville concept to River Spirit three years ago. “It was a very hard sell. He said, ‘You mean Tulsa, as in Oklahoma?’” Margaritaville scouts visited the Arkansas River site, Crofts said. “They liked Tulsa, and they also liked competing against Hard Rock,” the Cherokee Nation’s hotel-casino in Catoosa. “When they came over and visited our existing casino, it was a much nicer and better laid-out and better-run casino than any of the ones they were currently associated with. So he said, ‘Let’s do a deal.’”
The Margaritaville Restaurant will feature a volcano that erupts and pours lava into a giant blender and a wraparound deck overlooking the casino. The trademark 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar, Margaritaville Coffee Shop and a steakhouse also will be available. On the riverfront, an entertainment area will include poolside cabanas, fire pits, the Margaritaville Tiki Bar and the Landshark Landing beach bar with swim-up seating.
Crofts noted, “A lot of people, until they come to Tulsa and northeast Oklahoma, they think it’s flatlands and the Grapes of Wrath. But once they get here, it kind of sells itself. I’m 100 percent confident that it will be a major draw. There’s nothing like this. It just has a lot of varied features and a lot of national and international brands that we’re bringing to Tulsa.”
A recent New York Times story stated last year about 15 million people ate at one of Buffett’s 67 restaurants or stayed at one of his seven hotels and time-share resorts.
