Following two years of construction, the new 0 million Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River Casino & Hotel opened September 28 in Murphy, North Carolina. Owned by the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation and operated by Caesars Entertainment, the resort features 50,000 square feet of gaming space with more than 1,000 slot machines and 70 table games, plus a food court and a 300-room hotel.
Building the casino created more than 500 temporary construction jobs, and now about 900 permanent jobs are being filled. The second Harrah’s casino North Carolina, Harrah’s Valley River Casino is expected to attract more than one million visitors annually. The first was Harrah’s Cherokee Casino in Cherokee, opened in 1997, which attracts more than four million people a year and has a $300 million annual economic impact on Jackson and Swain counties, according to a University of North Carolina study.
At the casino opening, Harrah’s Regional Vice President of Marketing Leeann Bridges said, “I am so thrilled. I didn’t know if we’d have a crowd or not, and seeing the lines of cars and people just makes everything so worth it for everybody. Our employees are so enthusiastic. They’re so excited to get going and take care of our guests. I feel so proud.”
Regional General Manager and Harrah’s Senior Vice President Brooks Robinson added, “Two years ago we started this, and to see it come to fruition today is phenomenal. To open the doors and to see three or four thousand people come through the doors in just the first 15 minutes is pretty phenomenal.”
Robinson also noted the new casino’s economic impact. “For the area, we know we’re going to have around 1,000 jobs. It will put around $40 million into the local economy through payroll that will be here. For the tribe, it will just be another way to build the revenue stream and through tribal distribution. All of the projections look like it should be very successful for the tribe.”
Principal Chief Michell Hicks commented, “This is a huge project. It came in on time and on budget which is always tough to do. I’m very proud of that fact. This means more resources for the tribe so we can continue to expand our services for our people.”
Noted casino General Manager Lumpy Lambert, “I have gotten to know the opening team of HCVR for the past several months, and I can’t begin to explain how enthusiastic and eager Team Harrah’s is! This team of service professionals is driven to deliver on our service commitments and give our guests the very best experience from day one.”
