WinStar World Casino and Resort is a hotel and casino located near the Oklahomaâ€"Texas state line, 1 mile (1.6 km) north of the Red River, at Exit 1 and Exit 3 off Interstate 35 in Thackerville, Oklahoma. The casino opened as the WinStar Casinos in 2004, and was expanded (with a 395-room hotel tower) and renamed WinStar World Casino in 2009, with its 600,000 square feet (56,000 m2) of casino floor making it the world's largest casino. In August 2013, WinStar Resorts completed a major expansion project, which added a new 1000-room second hotel tower that was divided into two phases; this also added a new casino that is attached to the tower. As a result of the completion of this expansion, the casino overtook Foxwoods Resort Casino to become the largest casino in the United States and the second largest in the world based on gaming floor space. WinStar has over 7,400 electronic games, 55 table poker rooms, 99 total table games, Racer's off-track betting, High Limit Room, keno, and bingo.
Location and history
Winstar world casino and resort valet area 2 hotel -
WinStar World Casino and Resort is located about 120 miles south from the Oklahoma City metropolitan area and one hour north of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and attracts many people from the North Texas region as well as Oklahoma residents. The casino’s 3,500 seat Global Event Center has been home to some popular entertainment attractions including Jay Leno, Vince Gill, Adam Lambert, Weezer, Lil Wayne, ZZ Top, Maroon 5, Kid Rock, Tony Bennett, and Davy Jones, who gave his final concert at WinStar on February 19, 2012.
Design
WinStar was conceived by noted designer Larry E. Seitz whose work includes Sands Casinos, Trump Taj Mahal, Grand Casinos in Mississippi, Barona Casino, Buffalo Run, Chisholm Trail, Grand Princess, SS Norway, Casino Panama, Costa Rica Casino, Stellaris Casino Aruba, and the Paradise Island Casino among others. Additionally Hotels created for the brands Hilton, Hyatt, Sheraton, Marriott, Crown Plaza, Melina, Loews, Holiday, Ramada, InterContinental, and independents worldwide. Restaurants and Clubs have been produced internationally. Special effects, commissioned art, and sculptures were constructed and implemented by Dallas-based ValueWorks and produced by their suppliers in the U.S. and around the world. The exterior of the building was detailed by Lyndon Stromberg, who also worked on The Venetian and the MGM Grand in Las Vegas as well as the Atlantis Paradise Island Resort in the Bahamas and Planet Hollywood in New York City. The long façade exterior of WinStar World Casino features replicas of London's Parliament Building, Rome's Coliseum and the Arc de Triomphe from Paris.
Hotel information
WinStar World Casino and Resort is home to the 12-story, 395-room WinStar World Casino Hotel that’s adjacent to the gaming floor. On August 6, 2009, the 395-room hotel tower held a grand opening celebration that featured performances by American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson and American rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. Meeting rooms that have varied capacities of 10-200 people, a resort-style pool with a custom-built waterfall grotto, the Spa Habitat, and the Cloverleaf Boutique gift shop also opened on this date. WinStar World Casino and Resort also offers a variety of restaurants, many of which are open until late night hours, including Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill. The second hotel tower, the Pool Tower North, opened in August 2013, while the third hotel tower, the Pool Tower South, opened in early 2014. Both towers have a capacity of 500 rooms each and are adjacent to each other. The Inn at WinStar has 100 rooms, and is accessed from the casino and the RV park by a 24-hour shuttle service.There are around 99 table games at the WinStar World Casino. Table games include blackjack, Mississippi stud, midi baccarat, poker, ultimate Texas hold'em etc.The 19000 sq ft poker room has 55 poker tables.There is a restaurant Red River Grill inside the poker room.
Offsite areas
WinStar Golf Club
The WinStar Golf Club features a 225-acre, 27-hole golf course designed by former PGA Tour Pro, D.A. Weibring which holds golf tournaments each year. In addition, the WinStar Golf Academy, a 4,850-square-foot (451Â m2) facility, offers private golf lessons.
WinStar RV Park
WinStar RV park is a 200-space RV Park that is available to people visiting the casino. A shuttle service to the casino is available to guests in the RV Park.
Bull riding
In 2011, the Professional Bull Riders brought their Built Ford Tough Series bull riding tour to the WinStar World Casino with an event at an outdoor arena constructed near the casino itself. The event was sponsored by WinStar World Casino and has been held annually under the name "WinStar World Casino Invitational". The 2011 event was the first outdoor event on the BFTS since 2005.
References
External links
- WinStar World Casino
