More guest rooms at Catoosa's Cherokee Casino

The Cherokee Casino Resort in Catoosa has a rather attractive problem. Business is so good; the 150-room resort hotel is too small to accommodate demand especially on weekends. <br/><br/>As News on 6

Monday, April 17th 2006, 10:37 am

By: News On 6

The Cherokee Casino Resort in Catoosa has a rather attractive problem. Business is so good; the 150-room resort hotel is too small to accommodate demand especially on weekends.

As News on 6 reporter Rick Wells explains, the solution was right across the parking lot.

The Cherokee Casino Resort welcome mat is out at the former Super 8 motel across the parking lot. "Planning for the future is critical, so this really fits the bill for us perfectly." David Stewart is the CEO of Cherokee Nation Enterprises, they operate the casino resort and acquiring the Super 8 provides an instant expansion. â€œOur stratagy is to provide a wide range of services to broad base of customers."

The rooms in the resort hotel, cost anywhere from $89 to $129 per night. The rooms at the former Super 8, will be cheaper. He says in the $39 to $59 per night range, so resort patrons who want a cheaper room can now get one.

The motel's lobby has already been renovated, the rooms are being redone about ten at a time. "We are just gonna make it a little more consistant with the kind of service and quality we have in the other facility."

New carpet, new furniture and new paint. They've already hooked the building into the video camera security system. The expansion solves a couple of problems right away. No more parking place battles like what happened a year ago when casino patron's cars were towed from the Super 8 lot and fewer people turned away.

The 150 rooms in the resoprt hotel are booked solid on the weekends and this addition, will give them 113 more rooms. "And keeping people here on the property is what we're after."

The more they stay, the more they play, sounds like another winner. The revovation of the old motel will involve about a $500,000 investment, and all the work should be completed in 60 to 90 days.