The Paris News

GRANT, OKLA. — Doors to the new Choctaw Casino Resort opened here early today on U.S. 271 south of Hugo with hundreds of people trying their luck in the expanded facility, which the Choctaw Nation hopes to rival its Durant, Okla. establishment almost 60 miles to the west.

A grand opening is planned for 2 p.m. Tuesday, July 7, when Chief Gregory E. Pyle, along with Assistant Chief Gary Batton and the Choctaw Tribal Council, participate in a ribbon cutting ceremony for the 68,235-square foot facility.

From July 6 to July 11, there will be $25,000 in cash giveaways to lucky visitors. Drawings for the winners are to be held at 11 a.m. and 9 p.m. Monday through Friday. Then on Saturday, July 11, starting at 10 a.m. there will be one drawing every two hours to win $1,000 each, and at 8 p.m. a grand prize will be given to the last lucky winner.

More than 1,000 slot machines, eight blackjack tables, seven poker tables with a new poker room and a center stage hosting free entertainment are available in the casino area, twice the amount of game machines and tables than in the former facility.

In addition to the casino, the resort features a 33,711-square-foot hotel with 60 rooms; a fitness center and swimming pool, The former 25,000-square-foot casino is to be used as an event center with concert seating for 800 people.

The new facility also features three restaurants. Sandwiches will be served at the Blue Moon Café and for those with a more hardy appetite, Fire House Grill Restaurant will have a larger selection of meals from chicken fried steak to jumbo gulf shrimp. For those coffee lovers, Jackpot Java is the place to score a cup of gourmet coffee and get a snack, salad or a warm bowl of soup.

Choctaw Casino Resort is the natural progression of what started a decade ago in the Choctaw Travel Center Smokeshop with seven employees and 70 gaming machines. The resort employees 440 people and features 1,200 slot machines.

Seven acres of paved parking will accommodate crowds coming for special events and recreational gambling. “We are very excited with the property and the growth in the community and the jobs the facility will create,” Choctaw Nation gaming director Janie Dillard of Durant said in May. “We want it to develop into a destination place that people come to and spend a length of time.” Site manager Craig Northcutt said the new facility presents opportunities for growth in the area. “And certainly a lot of fun for our customers,” Northcutt said. For more information pertaining to the hotel, restaurants, tours or travel, a player’s club or poker room, call the Choctaw Casino Resort at 580-326-8397.

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