As you know, here at Luxury Lifestyle Magazine, we are big fans of the casino hotel experience, which is why we are always on the hunt for new locations to showcase. If you’re visiting the United States and looking for an experience at the slots, you would be forgiven for heading straight to Las Vegas, Nevada, or Atlantic City, New Jersey. If you are after something a little more understated, though, you could do a lot worse than head to Oklahoma, the “sooner state”, and try the casino experience in the Southern state famous for rolling hills and Russell Westbrook.
Read below for Luxury Lifestyle Magazine’s top three picks for an Oklahoman casino experience – but make sure to get some practice on these new slots sites first.
Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Tulsa
Oklahoma’s second city, Tulsa, contributes a significant amount of the economic activity for the state, and it doesn’t disappoint with its casinos either. The Hard Rock Hotel franchise carries significant weight in these parts, and its Tulsa outpost does the brand proud.
As you would expect with a casino resort, it carries all of the standard amenities as standard – conferencing facilities, luxury spa, and large heated outdoor swimming pool. Where it sets itself apart, though, is in its Cherokee Hills golf course. A full 18-hole course combines the relaxing luxury of a country club with a location stepped in Oklahoman history. The course traverses the rich and dramatic Oklahoman terrain – from babbling brooks, to rich treescapes and cliffs.
Of course, no casino resort is complete without gambling facilities to match – the Hard Rock has them in abundance. A vibrant casino with plenty to offer, include regular promotions like Double Vision Tuesdays and Payday Thursdays, offers both the casual and committed gamer value-added gambling.
You’ll find all of the classic table games, aswell as electronic games and slots, available within its four walls – included blackjack, craps, roulette, poker and many, many more.
Choctaw Casino Resort, Durant
Steeped in native history, Durant is the headquarters of the ‘Choctaw nation’ – a Native American tribe that occupied, and still occupies, regions across the South-Eastern States of North America. The word Choctaw can be translated, roughly, to ‘river people.’
For those from outside the area, the name Choctaw is now broadly associated with the number of casinos in the Southern states that bear the Choctaw brand. The best-rated of these is the Choctaw Casino Resort, in Durant – and it’s not hard to see why.
The Choctaw casino resort in Durant is not messing around. It carries over 4,300 slot machines alone, as well as a separate floor that exclusively caters to poker clientele with 26 tables and regular tournament play. A horse-racing unit, with TV screens and three-berth cashiers, also allow for punters to have a flutter on the races, if cards is not your thing. The casino experience is rounded off with a plethora of table games, running around the clock.
Perhaps most-impressive, though, is the quality of service offered to non-casino clients, too. The Choctaw in Durant has a vibrant entertainment scene, with live acts touring the venue weekly.
The success of the venue, which is the best-reviewed in the city of Durant, has led to the business decision to expand the casino. The development will add a further 1,000 guest rooms, and expand the gaming floor – creating an additional 1,000 jobs in the region as a result. According to the Choctaw Nation, which owns and operates the casino, the development will be open to the public in 2021.
WinStar World Casino and Resort, Thackerville
Owned and operated by the Chickasaw Nation, the WinStar resort is located on the Oklahoma-Texas border. The casino opened in 2004, leading the influx of gambling cash that has infused the region. In 2009, the casino was expanded, with a hotel tower attached, before unprecedented success led to an additional hotel tower, over double the size of the first, was developed in 2013. At the time, that meant the Thackerville casino had become the largest in the United States.
Fast-forward to today, and the WinStar is still an absolute giant by any standards. The resort has over 7,400 electronic games, a 55-table poker room, 99 tables for table games and even an exclusive high-limit room.
The iconic venue, which dominates the Thackerville skyline, also boasts some value-added facilities, for those who want a more-rounded resort experience. The WinStar Golf Club boasts 27 holes, designed by former PGA Tour pro D.A Weibring, alongside a golf academy. Additionally, the facility has an RV Park a shuttle ride away, with 200 berths.
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