TULSA, Oklahoma -- The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa officially opens Monday, August 3 becoming the only Hard Rock in the Heartland of America and just the seventh Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
The Hard Rock Casino and Hotel in Tulsa, OK in the world.
The launch begins at 1:30 pm in the Grand Lobby and will feature keynote addresses by Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chad Smith, Cherokee Nation Entertainment CEO David Stewart, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino representatives and superstar Toby Keith, who will be opening a Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill in the casino.
Cherokee Nation is the sole owner of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, which will be operated by Cherokee Nation Entertainment. The new resort features 350 luxury hotel rooms and suites; more than 125,000-square-feet of gaming space; five dining venues including Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill and McGill's on 19, a fine-dining penthouse restaurant; and five nightclubs and entertainment venues including the 2,500-seat Hard Rock Hotel & Casino event center scheduled to open in 2010.
Already setting the scene is the recently opened Center Bar, which features an 80-foot-long frozen bar top, and Friction lounge offering a nightlife experience similar to Metropolitan nightclubs featuring live music, urbane décor, a dance floor and specialty drinks.
"Entertainment in Tulsa is now synonymous with Hard Rock Hotel & Casino," says David Stewart, CEO of Cherokee Nation Entertainment. "With the Cherokee Nation's commitment of $155 million in developing the new resort and the branding opportunity with Hard Rock, we have made a long-term investment for our community and state. This venture brings together a unique blend of Cherokee culture, Oklahoma's rich musical history and classic rock and roll. We've created an experience that cannot be duplicated anywhere else."
In addition, the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino features the Sky Room a more than 5,000-square-feet banquet facility enclosed with floor-to-ceiling Chevron glass on the 18th floor; more than 35,000-square-feet of meeting space; a Hard Rock retail store stocked with new and traditional favorite Hard Rock merchandise and souvenirs; the Cherokee Hills Golf Club championship golf course located adjacent to the property; and a soon-to-open Hard Rock Las Vegas-inspired swimming pool set for the Fall.
The new Hard Rock Hotel tower will add more than 200 posh rooms and suites to the property including several Hard Rock suites and a Chief's suite.
"Cherokee Nation Entertainment has always been the industry leader and the first to bring resort style entertainment to the market. We continue this fine tradition by now bringing the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino brand to Tulsa," adds Stewart.
The new Hard Rock Casino fits right in with the attention already heaped on the casino that is now called Oklahoma's favorite three years in a row for "Best Place to Place Your Bets" by Oklahoma magazine. The casino features more than 2,300 electronic games and 70
poker and table games all infused with the world-famous Hard Rock motif.
And the 18-hole, 70-par, 170-acre Cherokee Hills Golf Club championship golf course was voted one of the top five public access courses in Oklahoma two years in a row by Golfweek magazine.