Owned by the Cherokee Nation, this is Oklahoma's only casino with a resort hotel and golf course. Located off I-44 in the suburb of Catoosa, 12 miles east of downtown and eight miles from the airport, it is a sprawling, sand-colored, mostly windowless complex, where gambling is clearly the raison d'etre. Though there are nearby motels, restaurants and strip developments, this is the main player here. Opened in 2004, it attracts gamers from across Oklahoma and nearby states, many of whom arrive as groups in charter buses. The complex's most distinguishing feature is its original artwork adorning the hotel and meeting spaces, created by Native American artists commissioned by the Cherokee Nation.
Entrance to the hotel-casino is on the west side, which requires a drive around the complex since vehicular access is from the east, giving guests a close-up view of the resort's golf course and country club. The casino, straight ahead upon entering the complex, is the first thing that greets visitors. Hotel reception is buried to the right, along with an uninviting seating area than can accommodate about 10 guests. Most people, however, don't spend time there, because the big draw is the 24-hour, 95,000-sq-ft casino, with 1,500 electronic games and more than 70 gaming tables.
Spread throughout the casino are six restaurants and food outlets, including Ante Pasta serving pizza in addition to noodles, Sidewalk Cafe, open 24 hours for burgers, snacks and breakfast, and Cabin Creek Smokehouse, specializing in barbecued meats and country music. Wild Potato Buffet offers a never-ending spread throughout the day, and McGill's is the casino's upscale restaurant, quiet, subdued and offering steaks, lobster and fish from an open kitchen. For entertainment, C:Note is a piano bar, and Twisters offers more spirited performances, either on a big screen or live acts on an elevated stage, including Elvis impersonators. There's another casual dining spot, Champions Grill, in the golf clubhouse.
More diversions are provided by the 18-hole golf course, a redesign of a historic Perry Maxwell course built in 1926. Hotel guests also have use of an indoor/outdoor pool with a whirlpool and a spacious terrace (though a surrounding parking lot detracts from its appeal), along with a large fitness room with views of the pool. A gift shop sells Native American crafts, souvenirs and sundries, 
and the business center is available to guests for free. Self-parking in the casino lot is free, and valet parking is offered for a fee. Meeting space consists of several boardrooms and salons, as well as a ballroom that accommodates 320 for a banquet.
Guest rooms, reached via bold-colored carpets sporting geometric designs, are done up in bright, bold colors, dark woods, geometric-patterned wallpaper, and artwork depicting Native Americans or Western landscapes. Standard features include two chairs around a desk that doubles as a table, high-tech phones that give weather forecasts and stock reports, coffeemakers, irons and ironing boards, TVs with games, and safes big enough for laptops or casino winnings. Twenty-three rooms are for smokers, and six are for the disabled. Pets are not allowed. Room service runs round-the-clock.
Because accommodations here are secondary to the casino, nongamblers will flee in horror to more quiet, sane hotels. But for gamblers who like to golf, this is the only game in town.
