Harrah’s continues multi-million dollar expansion
Ostenaco and Henry Timberlake wax figures as seen in the exhibit: Emissaries of Peace at the Museum of the Cherokee Indian. The Museum of the Cherokee Indian, located in Cherokee N.C., is proud to display the exhibit Emissaries of Peace: the Cherokee and British delegations of 1762 again this year after its return from the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. British Lt. Henry Timberlake published his memoirs — the best and fullest account of 18th-century Cherokee life — and these memoirs, along with a wealth of related artifacts, comprise the exhibit. The Museum is just one of many attractions visitors to the Cherokee, N.C. region can enjoy. Image courtesy of John Warner for the Museum of the Cherokee Indian.
On May 13th, Harrah’s Cherokee Casino & Hotel cut the ribbon to officially open a new Motorcoach Lounge, accommodating greater numbers of group visitors.
Presiding over the festivities was Darold Londo, General Manager of Harrah’s Cherokee, who introduced Principal Chief Michell Hicks, Eastern Band of Cherokee Nation; Norma Moss, Chair, Tribal Casino Gaming Enterprise Board of Advisors; and Ray Robbins, president of the North Carolina Motorcoach Association. The four joined hands to cut the ceremonial ribbon. Invited guests included the presidents of regional motorcoach associations and owners/operators of motorcoach companies.
The nearly 100-seat Motorcoach Lounge affords a comfortable waiting area for motorcoach guests, state-of-the-art digital arrival and departure screens and a large, well-appointed Driver’s Lounge with seating, TV monitors, a desk for computers and vending machines close by. The new Motorcoach Lounge, which also includes a new, dedicated Total Rewards Center, connects to the first floor of the casino’s new eight-level parking garage containing five motorcoach bays for pick-up and drop-off of customers. When completed this month, the new, eight-level parking garage will also have spaces for 2,311 automobiles. An additional, new Total Rewards Center and a small chocolate shop will be located on the second level.
“With the opening of this new facility, Harrah’s Cherokee Casino & Hotel can now welcome scores of additional visitors who arrive by motorcoach, and provide a comfortable setting for drivers and passengers alike,” said Darold Londo, general manager. “The new multi-level parking garage will allow our customers who arrive by car to pull right into the property with immediate access to the casino and hotel.”
The new Motorcoach Lounge is a key element in the Earth/Water-themed “zone” of the casino. The bi-level structure features 460 new electronic games and a 15-seat, full-service bar with seven bar-top games. Over 100 games are designated as non-smoking. To reduce the effects of smoke throughout the casino, a new HVAC system that continuously pumps 100 percent fresh outside air into the atmosphere has already been installed.
Food court to open late 2011
Opening late in 2011, a 150-seat Food Court with a variety of casual dining options will be located on Level One, and a new Buffet with seating for 600 will be the focal point of Level Two. From Level Two, guests will enjoy a panoramic view of the themed gaming “zones” and the hotel’s dramatic Rotunda.
$633 million expansion will make Harrah’s world-class destination
The Motorcoach Lounge, new parking garages, casino expansion and renovation, and 21-story Creek Tower of guest rooms and suites that was topped out on April 9, 2010, are all part of the casino’s $633 million expansion and diversification effort that will position Harrah’s Cherokee Casino & Hotel as the premier gaming destination in the Southeast and a world-class entertainment and tourism destination.
Scheduled for completion in 2012, the expansion is the most significant hospitality development currently underway in the Southeast and one of the largest in the U.S. The 56-acre property’s “Master Plan” for its hotel and casino will enable Harrah’s Cherokee to provide the greatest number of accommodations in North and South Carolina.
Events center to open Labor Day Weekend 2010
In addition to a new 3,000 Events Center opening Labor Day Weekend 2010 with performances by Hank Williams Jr. on Friday, Sept. 3, and Lady Antebellum on Saturday, Sept. 4, the completed resort will have entertainment and VIP lounges, an 18,000-square-foot spa, an all new state-of-the-art digital poker room, Asian gaming room and a variety of new restaurant and retail outlets. Paula Deen’s Kitchen, a 404-seat, full-service restaurant by the noted Food Channel celebrity chef will open at the end of 2010; Ruth’s Chris Steak House will open in the fall of 2011; and BRIO Tuscan Grille is scheduled to open in early 2012.
Robert Trent Jones II golf course available to Cherokee guests
Opened in 2009 as a guest amenity, is nearby Sequoyah National Golf Club, an 18-hole, par 72 championship course designed by golf architect Robert Trent Jones II and Native American golf pro Notah Begay III. Owned by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and managed by Troon Golf, prominent developer, marketer and manager of upscale golf properties, the course is available to guests at Harrah’s Cherokee who have privileged access through Harrah’s Cherokee Service Connection Center and Casino Host Teams.
In June 2009, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Nation, owners of Harrah’s Cherokee Casino & Hotel, approved a referendum which now permits wine, beer and spirits to be served on the casino floor and in the property’s restaurants, cafes, VIP lounge, and guest accommodations via room service.
Harrah’s Cherokee Casino & Hotel is an enterprise of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Nation, located 50 miles west of Asheville at the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Harrah’s Cherokee Casino is open 24 hours a day to guests 21 years of age or older.
For more information about Harrah’s Cherokee, please call (828) 497-7777 or visit our website at www.harrahscherokee.com.
