Harrah's Cherokee opened in November 1997 with video poker as the only gaming option. This followed the opening of a tribal bingo parlor in the early 1990s, which was quite profitable and led to calls for a casino. The casino came after several years of discord between the State of North Carolina and the Eastern Cherokees. Governor Jim Hunt resisted the casino, but the state was forced to enter into an agreement with tribal authorities by the federal courts. Since then, the tribe has used its casino revenues to build a new high school, a hospital, and public housing, and to upgrade public safety services on the reservation, such as police, fire and EMS. Part of the casino's revenue is also distributed directly to the Cherokee population, in a form of basic income. The casino is also credited with opening the door for gambling in North Carolina. The casino also heralded a relaxation of alcohol laws in the area, with liquor-by-the-drink being legalized in nearby Bryson City, Sylva, and Cherokee itself.
Features and design
Hotel
Harrah's Cherokee has three hotel towers with a total of 1,108 rooms, making Harrah's Cherokee the largest hotel in North Carolina.
Casino
Since the tribe's compact with North Carolina restricts the types of gaming permitted, most of the games offered have significant differences with those found in other casinos. The compact with North Carolina requires games to have an element of skill. For most of the video slot machines, this means that after an initial spin of the reels, the player is allowed to lock selected reels in place and spin again, holding reels with valuable symbols in hopes of matching them up with winning symbols on the second spin. The casino now has converted many of their slot machines to "Cherokee Raffle Reels," which require the player to insert their Total Rewards slot card into the machine before playing. This raffle entry is considered to be the second chance to win required by law, and has allowed the casino to phase out many of the "lock-and-roll" style machines for traditional video and reel slot machines. The tribe reached an agreement with the state on November 25, 2011, to allow live cards at Harrah's Cherokee. The casino began introducing live table games in 2012. As of summer 2014, there are over 100 table games. The casino has a non-smoking poker room with 20 tables. No-limit hold'em tournaments are run daily, including larger buy-in deep stack tourneys on the weekends. The casino also regularly hosts World Series of Poker circuit events in the Events Center which feature a variety of tournaments and concurrent cash games.
Amenities
The Harrah's Cherokee complex includes a conference center, a 3,000-seat events center, the Essence Lounge, a workout room, a lobby cafe, and a food court with four restaurants, Chef's Stage Buffet, Ruth's Chris Steak House, and BRIO Tuscan Grille. Harrah's Cherokee also has an indoor pool that is open year round as well as an outdoor pool open during the summer months. The outdoor pool also features its own bar and food service with a unique menu. Harrah's Cherokee also features the UltraStar Multi-Tainment center, a bowling complex including arcade, restaurant, entertainment stage, and multiple bars. This complex has 24 lanes for bowling, 16 standard and 8 VIP style.
Alcohol sales
On June 5, 2009, alcohol sales at the casino were approved by the tribe. Alcohol is served from 7 a.m. until 2 a.m. Monday through Saturday and from noon until 2 a.m. on Sunday. The first alcoholic beverage was served on December 29, 2009, at 5 p.m. Other than the casino, there are no bars in the city of Cherokee.
