Eastern Cherokees bring benefits to community with new casino

Friday, June 17, 2016

Employees of the Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River Casino and Hotel in Murphy, North Carolina. Photo from Facebook

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The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is on track to meet expectations at its new casino in North Carolina.

The Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River Casino and Hotel in Murphy opened to large crowds in late September. An executive told The Asheville Citizen-Times that the $110 million facility saw an average of 3,000 visitors a day in April.

"Seven months into the fiscal year, gaming revenue is within 1.9 percent of plan, and cash flow to the tribe (distribution) is within 0.3 percent," Jeremiah Wiggins, Harrah's regional director of planning and analysis, told the paper. "Admissions are above expectations and the hotel is near 100 percent occupancy."

Local business say traffic is up thanks to customers. But they also attributed an increase to the 1,000 employees who travel to and from the area to work.

"It is hard to measure some other things until we are a year into it, but it has already brought jobs into the community," Paul Worley, director of economic and workforce development at Tri-County Community College, told the paper.

Get the Story:
Murphy's winning bet: New casino lifts region (The Asheville Citizen-Times 6/17)