Eastern Cherokees make big impact on economy with casino

Monday, March 25, 2013  

Gaming has been good for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and for the economy in western North Carolina

The Harrah’s Cherokee Casino and Resort employs 2,500 people, about 400 of whom are tribal members. “The bottom line is about helping people,” Chief Michell Hicks told The Winston-Salem Journal.

The casino contributes more than $380 million to the economy, according to a 2011 study. The impact is expected to grow with the addition of live card dealers at the casino and the opening of a $650 million expansion that includes a third hotel tower.

“We could pick this property up and set it on the Las Vegas strip, and it would fit right in,” Brooks Robinson, the casino's senior vice president and general manager, told the paper.

Get the Story:
Casino an economic boon to tribe (The Winston-Salem Journal 3/25)
Casino finishes $650M expansion (The Winston-Salem Journal 3/25)
GRAND OPENING HELD FOR CASINO EXPANSION (The Cherokee One Feather 3/22)