EMILY KALKA With each passing day, the new casino on Route 66 being built by the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma is getting closer to opening -- bringing with it an estimated 350 jobs to the area -- while plans to break ground on the accompanying hotel have been moved up.
“The economy is starting to turn around a little bit. Interest rates have gone down. Inflation kind of slowed down, and so that’s made it to where it’s a little more, you know, we have a little more flexibility with getting the hotel started a little earlier than planned,” said Jacob Keyes, chairman of the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma.
The original plan was to first open the casino, which will be a Harrah’s brand through a management agreement between the tribe and Caesar’s Entertainment.
After generating some funds, then they would start on the hotel.
With the new timeline, Keyes said they hope to kick off some of the construction in the fall of this year with a tentative opening planned for around the second half of next year or early the following year. While plans are still being finalized, the hotel will be a bit smaller, under 200 rooms, but Keyes said they are working to build a second tower in a later phase.
The casino, Harrah’s Oklahoma, is still set to open in Spring 2025, around April or May.
“Construction’s going on time. Our only little hiccup has been just a couple little utility things, so some, you know, rural water district stuff that we’ve had to deal with. It’s been kind of challenging, but other than that, everything’s been going great,” Keyes said. The Iowa Tribe is funding updates to the wastewater treatment plant in Chandler to help with utilities.
He added that Caesar’s has already hired a general manager. Once he is settled in Oklahoma over the next few months, they will start filling out the rest of the leadership team -- most of which will likely come from Caesar’s as they are already familiar with how Caesar’s Rewards works and their management of properties.
“And then once they get that management team in place, then this fall they’ll start probably putting out job postings for a lot of the non-management positions,” he said.
The 100,000-square-foot casino is set to have around 1,200 slot machines, along with table games. There is also a restaurant that will have a showcase-piece bar that is half in and half out.
Another bar will sit near the entry, along with a grab-and-go food option. The decor will align with the Harrah’s brand, including deep purple, chandeliers and different finishes.
The first hotel tower will sit to the west of the casino, according to Don Smith, a superintendent with Crosslands Construction who is managing the site. The plan is to cut out the hill more and eventually expand the casino to tie into the first tower.
Keyes added that as part of the hotel build, they are going to construct an outdoor event space -- possibly an amphitheater built into the hill -- with an indoor event space to be included in a later phase. He said the tribe is also still working on eventually getting an exit from Turner Turnpike/I-44 that will go to the casino.
Staff Writer