The final flourishes are being added to the new Cherokee Casino Roland. The Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma is replacing their first casino which opened as a bingo hall in 1990. Grand opening celebrations are slated for the first week in July. Roland, Oklahoma is located near the Arkansas border, about 8 miles from Fort Smith.

A soft opening on May 19th has been planned for the property.
The new casino covers 170,000 square feet that includes a 120 room hotel (still in construction phase) , 850 gaming machines, as well as enough space to host events, conferences, trade shows and weddings. The existing Cherokee Inn is still open for business.

According to Chief Bill John Baker, they are creating 300 new jobs in addition to the 325 already held there, which is the real story as the Cherokee Nation needs employment.

Job fairs were held last month to recruit  250 members of staff to work on the casino portion and another 50 to work in the new hotel when it is completed.