After a 45-minute off-air discussion July 8, the Cherokee Tribal Council approved a $275 million master plan to expand the Valley River Casino in Murphy.
“We’re thrilled with Tribal Council’s support of the resolution and are optimistic that Chief Sneed will ratify the resolution,” said Harrah’s Regional Vice President for Marketing Brian Saunooke.
The projects included in the master plan are not named in the resolution Tribal Council passed, and the master plan itself was not made public. However, Saunooke said, “key features” will include an additional hotel tower, a new restaurant, a hotel lobby café, a spa and indoor pool, additional gaming space and additional parking.
In response to follow-up questions related to the scale and timeline of the proposed projects, Saunooke replied that the casino would reach out again “once we are at a point to share details.”
According to the resolution, the Tribal Casino Gaming Enterprise selected JCJ Architecture to develop the concept design and provide a cost estimate. To fund the project, the TCGE will obtain a loan not to exceed $275 million.
The approved master plan represents an investment of more than double the $110 million spent to deliver the initial facility in September 2015. The Valley River Casino & Hotel opened with 50,000 square feet of gaming space, including 1,050 slot machines, 70 table games and a food court-style dining area. In 2018, a $13 million expansion added a 41,000-square-foot entertainment area featuring bowling, arcade games and a full-service restaurant. It also added 55 gaming units and some bartop units such as video poker to the existing gaming floor. The facility also features a seven-story hotel tower with 300 rooms. As of this March, Valley River also offers sports betting .
After the lengthy off-air discussion, an overwhelming majority of Council members voted to approve the master plan, with only Birdtown Representative Albert Rose and Wolfetown Representative Bo Crowe opposed.
Before voting against the resolution, Rose proposed an amendment that would require the Tribal Council to contract with a firm to ensure that the project, which is under the TCGE’s jurisdiction, stays on budget. The TCGE’s current expansion project in Cherokee came in $80 million over budget , and Rose had led the charge in demanding answers for that overrun. However, the move didn’t receive a second and died on the floor. Crowe made a separate move to table, which also failed to gain a second.
Wolfetown Representative Chelsea Saunooke said the master plan is necessary to keep the casino ahead of the competition.
“I do want people to understand that right now as gaming stands, it funds 46.3% of our budget,” she said. “So anything that would take away from that — competition, whatever, you name it — that’s just chipping away, chipping away. If we don’t do more to offset competition , then we’re going to be sitting ducks.”
Rose disagreed.
“I think we’re way out in front of our competition. We’re in over a billion dollars that we’ve spent in the last eight months, I think,” he said. “So we’re way out in front of the competition, I think.”