Writer makes a visit to the casino owned by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians of North Carolina:
When the North Carolina GOP descends upon Cherokee in June for its state convention, the local economy and the state revenue coffers will feel the lift. You can bet your bottom dollar, many of those politicos will be hitting the roulette wheels and card tables at Harrah’s. Harrah’s in Cherokee is one of eight casinos of the Cherokee Nation. The casino and hotel is on 56 acres, an enterprise of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation. The location recently had a $650 million expansion with the greatest number of hotel accommodations in the Carolinas. The hotel now has 1,108 rooms in three towers. The newest tower is 21 stories tall. There are 1,001 luxury rooms and 107 suites with hotel parking at 1,132 parking spaces on six levels. Visitors can enjoy the indoor pool and fitness room, the Callaway Golf Shop and Tower Shop plus the Conference Center. The Conference Center has more than 21,000 square feet of meeting space which also can be used in seven smaller configurations for groups of 10 to 3,000. The amphitheater has seating on three levels for more than 3,000. The main floor accommodates 600 for dinner or 150 trade show booths. Gov. Beverly Perdue visited Aug. 21, 2012, for the introduction of live table game offerings which brought in 500 new jobs. It is a 30-year contract which will give the state a share of revenue from those new games, and a portion of the state’s share will go to school districts. Games include blackjack, craps and roulette.Get the Story: