WinStar World Casino and Resort is an American tribal casino and

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

located in

Thackerville, Oklahoma Thackerville is a town in Love County, Oklahoma. It is located in South Central Oklahoma. The population was 445 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Ardmore, Oklahoma Micropolitan Statistical Area. Geography Thackerville is located at (33. ...

, near the

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

–

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

state line. It is owned and operated by the

Chickasaw Nation The Chickasaw Nation (Chickasaw language, Chickasaw: Chikashsha I̠yaakni) is a federally recognized tribes, federally recognized Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribe, with its headquarters located in Ada, Oklahoma in th ...

. 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; its of casino floor made it the world's largest casino.Lassek, P.J., "What were the odds?", ''Oklahoma Curiosities: Quirky Characters, Roadside Oddities & Other Offbeat Stuff'', p 30 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 Foxwoods Resort Casino is a hotel and casino complex owned and operated by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation on their reservation located in Ledyard, Connecticut. Including six casinos, the resort covers an area of . The casinos have more th ...

to become the largest casino in the United States and one of the largest in the world based on gaming floor space. WinStar has over 8,600

electronic game An electronic game is a game that uses electronics to create an interactive system with which a player can play. Video games are the most common form today, and for this reason the two terms are often used interchangeably. There are other common ...

s, a 55-table poker room, 100 total table games including craps and roulette, Racer's

off-track betting Off-track betting (or OTB; in British English, off-course betting) is sanctioned gambling on horse racing outside a race track. U.S. history Before the 1970s, only the state of Nevada allowed off-track betting. Off-track betting in New York was ...

, and multiple high limit rooms.

Location and history

WinStar World Casino and Resort is located about 120 miles south from the

Oklahoma City metropolitan area The Oklahoma City metropolitan area is an urban region in the Southern United States. It is the largest metropolitan area in the state of Oklahoma and contains the state capital and principal city, Oklahoma City. It is often known as the Okla ...

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 James Douglas Muir Leno (; born April 28, 1950) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and actor. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show'' from 1992 to 2009. Beginning in September 2009 ...

Vince Gill Vincent Grant Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American country music singer, songwriter and musician. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman of the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s and as a solo artist b ...

Adam Lambert Adam Mitchel Lambert (born January 29, 1982) is an American singer and songwriter. Since 2009, he has sold over 3 million albums and 5 million singles worldwide. Lambert is known for his dynamic vocal performances that fuse his theatrical tra ...

Weezer Weezer is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1992. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Rivers Cuomo (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Patrick Wilson (drums, backing vocals), Scott Shriner (bass guitar, keyboards, backing v ...

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September 27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. His career began in 1995, at the age of 12, when he was signed by rapper Birdman (rapper), ...

ZZ Top ZZ Top is an American rock band formed in 1969 in Houston, Texas. For 51 years, they comprised vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard and vocalist-bassist Dusty Hill, until Hill's death in 2021. ZZ Top developed a signature sound ...

Maroon 5 Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. It currently consists of lead vocalist Adam Levine, keyboardist and rhythm guitarist Jesse Carmichael, lead guitarist James Valentine (musician), James Valentine, drummer Matt ...

Kid Rock Robert James Ritchie (born January 17, 1971), known professionally as Kid Rock (also known as Bobby Shazam), is an American singer, songwriter and rapper. His style alternates between rock, hip hop, country, and metal. A self-taught musician, ...

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birth ...

, and Davy Jones, who gave his final concert at WinStar on February 19, 2012. WinStar World Casino and Resort is the biggest casino in the United States, in terms of the total number of table games and gaming machines, according to many gambling blogs and casino directories. The casino closed temporarily between March 16 to March 31, 2020, due to the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic as announced by Chickasaw Nation Governor

Bill Anoatubby Bill Anoatubby (born November 8, 1945) is the Governor of the Chickasaw Nation, a position he has held since 1987. From 1979 to 1987, Anoatubby served two terms as Lieutenant Governor of the Chickasaw Nation in the administration of Governor Overto ...

. The casino was closed throughout the remainder of April 2020. The casino reopened on in May 2020, with restrictive guidelines.

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, Crowne 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 Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

as well as the

Atlantis Paradise Island Atlantis Paradise Island is an ocean-themed resort on Paradise Island in the Bahamas. It is built around Aquaventure, a waterscape. Property history The property was originally part of the Paradise Island Hotel and Casino, which opene ...

Resort in the

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

and

Planet Hollywood Planet Hollywood International Inc. (stylized as planet Hollywood, planet Hollywood observatory and ph) is a themed restaurant chain inspired by the popular portrayal of Hollywood. The company is owned by Earl Enterprises corporation. Earl En ...

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. The long façade exterior of WinStar World Casino features replicas of London's Parliament Building, Rome's Coliseum and the

Arc de Triomphe The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile (, , ; ) is one of the most famous monuments in Paris, France, standing at the western end of the Champs-Élysées at the centre of Place Charles de Gaulle, formerly named Place de l'Étoile—the ''étoile'' ...

from Paris.

Hotel information

WinStar World Casino Hotel includes three hotel towers and 1,399 rooms. On August 6, 2009, the original 395-room hotel tower held a grand opening celebration that featured performances by ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

'' winner

Kelly Clarkson Kelly Brianne Clarkson (born April 24, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter, author, and television personality. She rose to fame after winning the first season of ''American Idol'' in 2002, which earned her a record deal with RCA. Her debu ...

and American rock band

Lynyrd Skynyrd Lynyrd Skynyrd ( ) is an American rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida. The group originally formed as My Backyard in 1964 and comprised Ronnie Van Zant (lead vocalist), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Ju ...

. Meeting rooms that have varied capacities of 10-200 people, a resort-style pool with a custom-built waterfall grotto, the Spa at WinStar, ONYX Boutique and the Isle at WinStar gift shop. WinStar World Casino and Resort offers a variety of restaurants, many of which are open until late night hours, including Dallas Cowboys 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 101 rooms, and is accessed from the casino and the RV park by a 24-hour shuttle service. The casino is 18+.

Offsite areas

WinStar Golf Club

The WinStar Golf Club features two 18-hole championship golf courses designed by former PGA Tour Pro,

D.A. Weibring Donald Albert "D. A." Weibring Jr. (born May 25, 1953) is an American professional golfer who has won numerous tournaments including several on the PGA Tour and Champions Tour. Early life and amateur career Weibring was born in Quincy, Illinois. ...

. In addition, the WinStar Golf Academy, a facility, offers private golf lessons.

WinStar RV Park

The FunTown

RV park A recreational vehicle park (RV park) or caravan park is a place where people with recreational vehicles can stay overnight, or longer, in allotted spaces known as "sites" or "campsites". They are also referred to as campgrounds, though a tru ...

at WinStar 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.

References

External links

* {{Chickasaw Casinos in Oklahoma Hotels in Oklahoma Chickasaw Nation casinos Buildings and structures in Love County, Oklahoma Tourist attractions in Love County, Oklahoma Buildings and structures completed in 2004 Novelty buildings in Oklahoma Casino hotels 2004 establishments in Oklahoma