It will be the first major expansion for the seven-year-old casino, whose $110 million initial phase Lambert described as “pretty bare-bones.” The facility did undergo a $13 million, 38,000-square-foot expansion in 2017, which included a bowling center, restaurant and small gaming floor bar that is now being used as a sports betting lounge. An expanded 30-seat motorcoach lobby will be available for bus patrons. The new bar will feature 14 tabletop gaming units, eight beer taps, bartop seating, lounge seating and TV monitors for watching sports. On the gaming floor, 25,000 square feet of extra space will allow for 400 new slot machines, 12 new gaming tables, a World Series of Poker room with its own cashier cage and a 22-seat casino bar to replace the “temporary” bar erected at the casino entrance seven years ago. The Panther Top Tower in the Nantahala National Forest near Murphy will be open 10 a.m.… A 12,000-square-foot rooftop restaurant with a 25-seat bar and wine cellar will sit atop the new hotel tower, offering three meals a day through a partnership with a celebrity chef, one of only three restaurants in the nation to use that model. The project includes a 1,700-stall parking garage - the property’s first - which will connect via sky bridge to a hotel featuring a new 296-room tower in addition to the existing 300 rooms, as well as an indoor pool and fitness center. We have risen from the ashes of oppression and poverty to become the economic driver of the entire region of western North Carolina.” Expansion detailsĮxpected to be complete in early 2024, the $275 million expansion will double the size of the existing hotel, add 25,000 square feet to the gaming floor, and expand the casino’s list of amenities.

“It is a message to our people today that our economic development as a tribal nation is ever evolving.

“The project that we stand poised to break ground on today is a message to our ancestors, that we are continuing the good work that they began so long ago, and was made possible by their sacrifice,” said Principal Chief Richard Sneed.

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