The 0 million Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River Casino & Hotel near Murphy, North Carolina is on track for a September 28 opening. Owned by the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation and managed by Caesar Entertainment, the casino, hotel and parking occupy 45 acres of 95 acres owned by the tribe. “It’s a very beautiful site. You have some really beautiful views,” said General Manager Lumpy Lambert.
The property will offer a 50,000 square foot casino floor with 1,050 slots and video poker machines and 70 table games, plus a 300-room hotel. Dining options will include Starbucks coffeehouse, Nathan’s Famous hot dogs, Panda Express Chinese Restaurant, Papa John’s Pizza and Earl of Sandwich.
Valley River Casino hopes to attract 1-1.5 million visitors annually, primarily from the North Georgia and Chattanooga, Tennessee areas. Lambert said, “It’s very small, relative to Cherokee,” referring to the tribe’s deluxe Harrah’s Cherokee destination casino in Cherokee. “Cherokee is a full-blown resort, where the Valley River Casino will be a day-trip destination,” he said, adding “We recognize that Valley River will cannibalize some of Cherokee’s business.”
The project has employed more than 500 construction workers and will create more than 900 permanent jobs. Phylis Blackmon, executive director of the Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center, said, “What I’m very excited about is the $32 million to $39 million payroll every year. That payroll is going to help every business that we have.”
Residents are hopeful the new casino will have a similar economic impact on Murphy as it has had on Cherokee. According to a June 2011 study by the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, the tribe’s Cherokee casino had a $300 million economic impact on Jackson and Swain counties, and also was responsible for 5 percent of the jobs in the two counties and 8 percent of wages and salaries. The report also found the casino had positive social impacts for the tribe, lifting tribal members out of poverty, improving life expectancy and leading to more students enrolling in community college. The tribe’s 15,000 registered members each receive a share of casino profits in two annual checks; in 2012 that totaled $7,700 per member. The Cherokee casino, which draws almost 4 million people annually, reported total gaming revenue of $513 million in 2013.
Lambert said, “There is a third license that would be available, should the tribe pursue it.”
The North Carolina Department of Transportation recently completed Casino Parkway at a cost of $10.2 million. The tribe will reimburse NCDOT $800,000 for water and sewer lines. NCDOT Division Construction Engineer Brian Burch said, “This was an important project from an economic development standpoint.”
