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Casino near Tulsa expanding
Cherokee Casino Resort in Catoosa is expanding by 30,000-square-feet to add 800 new electronic games and an 80-foot-long bar made of solid ice.
Today's opening is part of a $155 million expansion that will ultimately include more than 400,000 square feet of hotel, convention and entertainment space in a 19-story tower.
The expansion is to be completed this summer and the casino 15 miles east of Tulsa will adopt the Hard Rock name under a licensing agreement with Hard Rock Hotel Holdings LLC and HRHH IP LLC.
Dedicated suites will be offered on the 17th floor for major casino players.
Hard Rock Coming To Tulsa
Hard Rock Hotel Holdings, LLC as entered into a license agreement with Cherokee Nation Enterprises, LLC that, pending review of the National Indian Gaming Commission, will enable Cherokee Nation Enterprises to brand its expanded hotel and casino in Catoosa under the Hard Rock Casino name.
The Hard Rock Casino Tulsa is the first Hard Rock-branded property in the Midwest. The new property will bring its own version of the Hard Rock experience to Oklahoma with influences from Cherokee heritage, Oklahoma's rich history of musical artists and a blend of the property's current and future amenities and entertainment.
"We are excited about bringing the Hard Rock experience to Tulsa. Hard Rock is a nationally and internationally known brand, and bringing it here allows us to make it uniquely Oklahoma," said David Stewart, CEO of Cherokee Nation Enterprises. "Being part of the Hard Rock brand, combined with our current expansion, will set us apart from any other entertainment option in the region."
"What should be clear is that the Cherokee Nation retains full ownership and management of all of our facilities. This is a marketing mechanism to share the Cherokee hospitality that we are known for," said Chad Smith, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. "The Hard Rock brand is another tool that we are using to create a diversified, growing economy in northeastern Oklahoma."
As part of the Hard Rock brand, the new resort will include the dιcor, memorabilia and merchandise that have made the Hard Rock brand famous around the world.
The Hard Rock Casino Tulsa's current expansion is estimated at $155 million, with the new gaming floor opening in December and the newly branded hotel welcoming its first guests in the spring of 2009.
Dinosaurs To Roam In Tulsa
Dinosaurs are coming to Tulsa! The BOK Center's CEO says as soon as he heard Walking With Dinosaurs was on a US tour, he knew he had to bring it here.
Life-size dinos will litterally walk around the area right before your eyes! The show's based on the award-winning BBC TV series. It took a team of fifty a year to bring the dinosaurs to life. "You'll see them walking and runing and fighting. They'll have my personal favorite dinosaurs, I understand, Tyrannosaurus Rex," said Mayor Kathy Taylor.
Ten species are represented from the entire 200 million year reign of the dinosaurs. The show includes the Tyrannosaurus Rex, the terror of the ancient terrain, as well as the Plateosaurus and Lillensternus from the Triassic period, the Stegosaurus and Allosaurus from the Jurassic period and Torosaurus and Utahraptor from the awesome Cretaceous. The largest of them, the Brachiosaurus is 36 feet tall, and 56 feet from nose to tail.
The show depicts the dinosaurs' evolution, complete with the climatic and tectonic changes that took place, which led to the demise of many species. There are only eight shows, starting at the end of Janurary. Tickets go on sale next week.
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