NORTH TEXAS – North Texans will soon have a new gambling getaway, as final touches are placed on a new casino and resort nearby.
The $238 million Choctaw Landing Casino and Resort is expected to open next month in the scenic southeast corner of Oklahoma in Hochatown, which is about a three-hour drive from Dallas.
The resort ran an ad in the Super Bowl, featuring four Dallas superstars in it’s “Where the Players Play” campaign. Its newest athlete ambassadors include DFW legends such as Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith, Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman, Cowboys safety Darren Woodson and Rangers catcher Iván “Pudge” Rodríguez.
“We want people to resonate with us being a place that their favorite legendary athletes want to visit and they want to be here, too,” Sr. Director of Gaming Brand and Partnerships Erica Kosemund told CBS News Texas. “We want tier-A talent and tier-A experiences for everything we do here at Choctaw.”
Guests can expect a fully-loaded resort with 100 hotel rooms, a pool area with two hot tobs and three fire pits, a fitness center, a hotel restaurant, multiple outdoor dining/bar options, an outdoor amphitheater and of course, a massive gambling area. The casino will include 600 slot machines, along with eight table games, such as roulette, blackjack and poker. The resort will even have a mercantile with groceries, a deli, a Starbucks and a 24-pump fuel station.
“Choctaw Landing is an all-in-one exclusive resort destination, and the perfect place to unwind,” said Choctaw Landing General Manager Amy Davis. “We are located just an hour north of the Oklahoma/Texas border and excited to open this new entertainment destination for Oklahomans and our friends and neighbors in Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana.”
The Choctaw Nation says the resort will focus on the tribe’s rich culture and reflect the importance of nature. There will be a sculpture at the entrance, showcasing Choctaw Social Dancers with a feature the tribe describes as “an opening for guests to ‘join the dance,’ interact with the dancers, and delve into the rich history woven into each character around the circle.”
The resort is expected to create hundreds of jobs for the community and bring in an estimated $95 million to the local economy in Oklahoma.
While gambling is not currently illegal in Texas, Mark Cuban, who’s selling a majority stake in the Dallas Mavericks, has mentioned interest in building a casino resort in Dallas. He’s said he wants to partner with buyer Miriam Adelson, who controls the Las Vegas Sands Corporation, which runs casino resort operations internationally, in a long-range plan of building an arena in downtown Dallas that would also include a hotel and casino.
Although, efforts to legalize gambling still face steep odds. In December, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick told CBS News Texas there’s not enough support among Republicans in the state Senate.