Jimmy Buffet music played in the background during the recent topping-off ceremony at the 5 million Margaritaville Restaurant and Casino complex under construction at the River Spirit Casino Resort in Tulsa, Oklahoma, as a tropical palm tree was hoisted to the frame of the 27th and last floor of the new hotel tower. Officials said the casino and restaurant will open Labor Day weekend and Margaritaville Chief Executive Officer John Cohlan said, “I think it’s safe to say Jimmy wouldn’t miss it.” The hotel tower will open in December.
Muscogee (Creek) Nation Chief James Floyd said, “I can remember when we had the first bingo parlor here in the ’80. This is a transformational project, not just for the Creek Nation, but for the community. In addition to the 900-plus employees we have now, we will be employing an additional 1,000 people here with the expansion and with the Margaritaville.”
The two-level Margaritaville restaurant and bar will offer outdoor decks overlooking the Arkansas River, a retail outlet, a live music stage and volcano that spews lava into a giant blender. A riverfront, tropical-themed pool deck will feature cabanas, fire pits, palm trees and multiple bars including swim-up seating. Other food venues will include a Margaritaville Coffee Shop and possibly a Mickey Mantle’s Steakhouse. The 50,000 square foot gaming floor will offer 27 table games, 850 gaming machines and a 2,500-seat entertainment venue. A 30,000 square foot meeting space and a 483-room hotel also will be added, plus a parking structure for 1,206 vehicles.
Muscogee (Creek) Nation Casinos Chief Executive Officer Pat Crofts said the tribe, wanting something special for its expansion, approached Cohlan four years ago. Meeting with him in Las Vegas, Crofts said, “I started trying convincing him that he should build a Margaritaville in Tulsa. The look he gave me wasn’t very good at the time, but we finally convinced his people to come out and take a look. They liked what they saw.”
The two-level Margaritaville restaurant, bar and retail outlet also will have a stage for live music, two outdoor decks overlooking the Arkansas River and a volcano that regularly blasts lava into a giant blender. Also on-site will be a tropical-themed pool deck, cabanas, palm trees, fire pits and multiple bars including one with swim-up seating.
The new 50,000 square foot casino will feature 850 gaming machines and 27 table games, 30,000 square feet of event and meeting space and a 2,500=seat entertainment venue. One of the final steps in the project will be to knock down walls and connect the new and old casinos.
Floyd noted, “To have a project of this size be on time, on budget and very few incidents to slow us down, they’ve done a tremendous job.”
Last year renovations were completed at the original Margaritaville at the River Spirit Casino Resort, giving it a more tropical feel and adding the 5,000 square foot It’s Five O’ Clock Somewhere Bar, the largest in the Margaritaville family.
