Wagering on success : Cherokee Casino opens in West Siloam Springs, Okla.
Posted on Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Daily Record photograph by Sarah Nader Danielle Thurman, an employee at the newly opened Cherokee Casino Resort in West Siloam Springs, Okla., was shocked to hear that William Poorboy, left, of Hindsville won $ 40, 000 on a $ 1 slot machine Monday evening. Poorboy was just about to head home after losing almost $ 800 when he struck gold during the Cherokee Casino’s opening day.
WEST SILOAM SPRINGS, Okla. — Mark Smith somehow managed to get a foot inside the door of the new Cherokee Casino here before staff officially opened the 200, 000-plus-square-foot gaming area for business Monday. The look of awe that spread across Smith’s face was similar to that of the fictional character Charlie when he wandered into Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory in the popular 1971 film.
Instead of finding Oompa-Loompas parading around a fantasyland of Everlasting Gobstoppers and chocolate rivers, Smith stepped into a world of flashing lights, sirens and one-armed bandits that seemed to stretch as far as he could see.
“ Oh my God, ” said Smith, a 55-year-old Tontitown resident. “ The old place sure was a far cry from this. I feel like I’m not even in the same world anymore. ”
Outside the front door, literally a few paces from Siloam Springs on U. S. Highway 412, it still is the same world. But inside, it’s quite another story.
The old Cherokee Casino, which began in West Siloam Springs on April 17, 1993, as a bingo hall, evolved as best it could over the past 15 years. But the facility, which had grown to cover 50, 000 square feet, was never meant to serve as a casino. With all the growth and development that had taken place in nearby northwest Arkansas, there was never a shortage of gamblers. But the ceilings were low, games and tables were limited, and there was little to no ventilation. According to Smith and others who frequented the old Cherokee Casino, the facility often filled with smoke, making it difficult to breath or enjoy the gaming experience.
The new Cherokee Casino, which opened Monday, eliminates those concerns and challenges. The facility, which has been under construction for the past 14 months, covers more than 200, 000 square feet and boasts more than 12, 000 games — from slots to blackjack, poker and craps tables. There’s a main stage and entertainment area equipped for national music and comedy acts, as well as multiple sit-down dining options. And that’s just the first of three phases.
The second phase will include the demolition of the former casino space and addition of a spacious food court with what one public-relations representative described as “ offering everything under the sun. ” And a multistory, resort-style hotel will soon come out of the ground, completing an estimated $ 75 million entertainment operation that figures to employ more than 1, 000 area residents from northwest Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma.
“ Even I have a hard time believing what I’m seeing, ” said Melissa Johnson, who started as a bingo entry cashier at the casino in 1995 and now works as a customer-service administrator. “ It makes me proud for my tribe. I remember when the sign on our door said Bingo Outpost, and all we had was bingo and pull tabs.
“ At one time during those first years, things weren’t going well and they were thinking about turning us into a truck stop. To see what this has become, it’s a major success and something I’m proud to be a part of. ”
Even as Cherokee Casino staff and electricians tied up the loose ends with security cameras and equipment on Monday morning, people anxious to get a glimpse of the new facility were peering through the sliding front doors.
“ We went to the old casino a lot, but we never went on weekends because it was so smoky and crowded, ” Siloam Springs resident Cheryl Dorris said. “ This is so wide open and big. It’s beautiful. It’s like walking into a palace. ”
Her husband, Randy, was quick to pour on additional praise.
“ All they had was a little snack bar at the old one, ” Randy Dorris said. “ Now there’s a buffet, restaurants — wow. Look at this place. I feel like I want to get a hotel room here and make a weekend of it, even though I only live (a few miles ) away. ”
Cherokee Casinos operates six other Oklahoma casinos in Tulsa, Roland, Tahlequah, Fort Gibson, Sallisaw and at Will Rogers Downs in Claremore. According to Charles “ Chief” Boyd, whose company Thalden-Boyd-Emery Architects designed the West Siloam Springs casino, each of the Cherokee Casinos intentionally tells a piece of Cherokee history.
From the towering timbers, gushing waterfall and elaborate stonework outside, to the emphasis on water, trees and symbolism on the inside, Boyd said the West Siloam Springs facility incorporates Cherokee history from the late 1700 s to the early 1800 s.
“ When you look at the carpet, you see the swirling blue water patterns. It’s contemporary representation on the interior and more traditional representation on the exterior, ” Boyd said. “ This is a very difficult period to convey — some Cherokees were on plantations, and others were still wearing buckskin. But the idea is for each of the Oklahoma casinos to represent a different time period, so when you do a tour to several locations, you get the complete story. ”
Boyd’s firm is no stranger to casino design and construction, having drawn the plans for 116 casinos across the country, operated by more than 50 Indian tribes. For those whose first complaint about the old facility was lingering smoke, Boyd has some welcome news.
“ Casinos are fast becoming the only place anyone can go to and smoke in public, ” Boyd said. “ That’s huge for the gaming industry. What we’ve found through our research is more people smoke when they’re at Oklahoma casinos than just about anywhere else. I don’t know why that is, but it is. So you better have a good design and system in place to recycle the air and meet the standards.
“ The old casino was never meant to serve as this kind of facility. What you have now is a state-of-the-art casino that takes everything into account. ”
Smith and the others who flocked to West Siloam Springs on Monday for the opening of the newest Cherokee Casino just wanted at the slots and tables. And those wishes were granted.
“ I was just at the old casino on Saturday, so I’m in shock right now, ” Smith said. “ I don’t even know what to do with myself. Everything just got so much better. ”
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