As the public recently got its first look inside the 5 million Margaritaville Casino & Restaurant at River Spirit Casino in Tulsa,
Pat Crofts, chief executive officer for Muscogee (Creek) Nation Casinos, said, “Tulsa doesn’t know what’s about to hit it. I mean, this is going to be big. Really big.”
He added, “We were a large, locals casino before. We attracted customers from maybe 50 to 100 miles out. We’re going to become a regional destination resort. We’ll reach out to as far as Dallas, Kansas City, Wichita. We knew we couldn’t just build a bigger box. We could have built a bigger casino, no-brand hotel. And we could have attracted more people. Our goal was to get some national brands and ended up getting two international brands, with Margaritaville and Ruth’s Chris Steak House.”
Crofts said the project, which has taken two years to complete, created 2,500 construction jobs, plus 1,000 permanent and 1,200 indirect jobs, and injected $135.1 million into the Tulsa economy. Profits will go to the tribe’s permanent fund; interest from that fund will support Creek Nation health care, education, welfare and other tribal initiatives including preserving Creek history and culture. Principal Chief James Floyd said, “It will really lift the spirit of the (Creek) nation and the people. It’s their money, their property. They are the ultimate investors.”
One of the highlights of the project is a 27-story glass tower overlooking the Arkansas River, featuring a 483-room hotel with a tropical theme set to open in December. The hotel’s huge lobby has an elegant check-in desk on one side, a concierge station on the other and a floor-to-ceiling, 50 feet wide x 16 feet tall TV screen.
In one direction is the existing River Spirit Casino, and in the other is the new 50,000 square foot Margaritaville casino, offering electronic games, table games and poker, plus live entertainment. The Margaritaville restaurant will feature the brand’s famed erupting “volcano.”
Outside, the swimming pool area will offer cabanas, palm trees, fire pits and a Margaritaville tiki bar. The property also features an upscale spa, 30,000 square feet of convention space and a 2,500-seat concert venue that will open next year.
“It’s a game-changer, for the tribe, for the city, for the whole Tulsa area. I think when people see it, they will realize that,” Crofts said.
Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville resorts are located in Bossier City, Louisiana; Biloxi, Mississippi; Pigeon Forge, Tennessee; and in Florida at Hollywood, Pensacola and Orlando. Besides Margaritaville resorts and restaurants, Buffett owns LandShark Bar & Grill, 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar and Cheeseburger in Paradise restaurants in the U.S., the Bahamas and other Caribbean locations. His net worth is estimated at $400 million.
