Located 80 miles north of Dallas, and less than an hour from its fast-growing suburbs, the 3,500-seat Global Event Center at WinStar World Casino and Resort in Thackerville, Oklahoma is where the biggest stars like to perform. In fact, Doug Curtis, president and chief executive officer at the 4 million AT&T Performing Arts Center, which includes the Winspear events center, said WinStar is a key competitor “to a very great extent.” The Chickasaw Nation-owned center books “A-list talents,” Curtis said, including comics Jerry Seinfeld, Amy Schumer and Tracy Morgan, singer-songwriters Bob Dylan and Jackson Browne and country artists Miranda Lambert, Kacey Musgraves, Brad Paisley and Keith Urban. Past acts include Reba McEntire, Willie Nelson, Rod Stewart, Stevie Nicks and Steely Dan. Upcoming concerts include Dwight Yoakam, Penn & Teller, Donny & Marie Osmond, Kevin Hart, Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons, Johnny Mathis, Pit Bull and Diana Ross.
Noted Curtis, “It’s how they’re getting these talents that affects us the most. They’re paying ridiculously large sums of money,” mainly from gambling revenue, he said. “But what’s really killing us are the radius and time clauses they impose. If it were only money, we could compete. But it’s not.” The WinStar clause prohibits an act from performing at a venue within 100 miles of the WinStar property and grants exclusivity to the casino for periods ranging from six months to one year before and after a WinStar booking.
WinStar Assistant General Manager Michael McEwan said, “We operate the Global Event Center in line with industry standards and are dedicated to the customer experience. For our concert fans, that means offering popular music and comedy acts, and that’s what we are focused on providing.”
Performers also like the kid-glove treatment they receive at WinStar. Entertainment Manager Stephanie Callaway said WinStar provides “a very personal atmosphere backstage. We pride ourselves on offering them a truly private experience. We make it as much like home as possible. It’s just like any other business. People talk. The word has gotten out that we offer a very personal experience for them to come stay with us, and we make it pleasurable.”
WinStar’s Global Event Center offers a huge stage and state-of-the-art acoustics. However, some concertgoers complain about the facility’s barnlike atmosphere with portable chairs which, though padded, lack armrests and all are on the same level on the floor.
Besides the concert hall, WinStar offers 7,400 electronic gaming machines and 99 tables, plus 21 restaurants, a 27-hole golf course and a convention center that will open next year.
