Gilleys Addition Caps $60 Million Expansion of Choctaw Casino Hotel
by July 8, 2013 12:00 am 508 views
The opening of the iconic music venue Gilley’s at a River Valley casino and hotel is the final stage in a $60 million expansion effort.
A ribbon cutting was recently held at the Choctaw Casino Hotel in Pocola, Okla., just across the Arkansas border from Fort Smith.
The property is one of eight casinos operated by the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.
Gilley’s is a combination restaurant/bar/live-music venue. It is taking 4,200 SF of space previously occupied by the Stargazer Buffet and employs 20 people.
The original Gilley’s, named after veteran country singer Mickey Gilley, was founded in Texas in 1971, dubbed the “world’s largest honky tonk.”
The venue was featured in the 1980 movie “Urban Cowboy” starring John Travolta.
The River Valley location is the fifth Gilley’s spinoff, joining locations in Dallas, Las Vegas, Hollywood, Fla., and the Choctaw Casino Resort in Durant, Okla.
The expansion effort also included a 118-room hotel — opened earlier this year — parking garage and expansion of the existing casino space by about 150,000 SF.