With questions surrounding dealer interactions and handing cards and chips back. All Chickasaw Nation-owned businesses including WinStar World Casino and Border Casino that are already closed to limit the spread of COVID-19 will stay closed through May 15, Chickasaw Gov. Bill Anoatubby announced today, Tuesday, April 28. The casinos and many of WinStar’s associated businesses closed down at midnight March 16 as a precaution.

1. Winstar Casino Thackerville Ok
2. Winstar World Casino Slot Videos
3. Choctaw Casino Durant

WinStar World Casino and Resort is an American tribal casino and hotel located in Thackerville, Oklahoma, near the Oklahoma–Texas state line. It is owned and operated by the Chickasaw Nation. 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 370,000 square feet (34,000 m²) of casino floor made it the world's largest casino.^[2] 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 one of the largest in the world based on gaming floor space. WinStar has 8,500 electronic games, a 55-table poker room, 100 total table games, Racer's off-track betting,^[3] high limit room, keno, and bingo.^[4]

Location and history[edit]

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.^{[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]}

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.^[22] The casino was closed throughout the remainder of April 2020.^[23] The casino reopened on in May 2020, with restrictive guidelines.^[24]

Design[edit]

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.^[25]

Hotel information[edit]

WinStar World Casino and Resort is home to the 12-story, 395-room WinStar World Casino Hotel that is 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.^[26] 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. There are around 100 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.^[27]

Offsite areas[edit]

WinStar Golf Club[edit]

The WinStar Golf Club features two 18-hole golf courses 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 (451 m²) facility, offers private golf lessons.^[28]

WinStar RV Park[edit]

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[edit]

In 2011, the Professional Bull Riders brought their Built Ford Tough Seriesbull 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 was held annually from 2011 to 2017 under the name 'WinStar World Casino Invitational'. The 2011 event was the first outdoor event on the BFTS since 2005.

References[edit]

1. ^[1]Archived August 16, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
2. ^Lassek, P.J., 'What were the odds?', Oklahoma Curiosities: Quirky Characters, Roadside Oddities & Other Offbeat Stuff, p 30
3. ^'Casino City: WinStar World Casino'. Oklahoma.casinocity.com.
4. ^'Eyes on Texas and Oklahoma: WinStar World Casino'. Durangotexas.com.
5. ^'Davy Jones gives final interview to a Texoma radio personality'. Kxii.com. 2012-03-02. Retrieved 2013-11-23.
6. ^'WinStar World Casino Global Event Center in Thackerville, OK Convention / Conference Center 73459 - Dallas Morning News'. Listings.dallasnews.com. Retrieved 2013-11-23.
7. ^'The Official Site of the Chickasaw Nation WinStar World Casino and Resort opens new hotel tower, other expansion projects'. Chickasaw.net. Retrieved 2013-11-23.
8. ^'WinStar Global Event Center Oklahoma'. ChickasawCountry.com. Retrieved 2013-11-23.
9. ^'Rainmaker Implements GuestREV Revenue Management System at Chickasaw Nation Properties in Oklahoma'. Letitrain.com. 2013-11-04. Retrieved 2013-11-23.
10. ^'WinStar World Casino and Resort Opens new Hotel Tower, Other Expansion Projects - WFLA News Channel 8'. Wfla.com. Retrieved 2013-11-23.
11. ^GENE TRIPLETT (2011-10-07). 'Weezer will play casino date in Thackerville'. News OK. Retrieved 2013-11-23.
12. ^'Bellator MMA & WinStar World Casino Announce 2013 Event Partnership - Bellator MMA'. Bellator.com. Retrieved 2013-11-23.
13. ^@MMAjunkie (2012-12-18). 'Bellator plans three events for Oklahoma's WinStar World Casino in 2013'. MMAjunkie. Retrieved 2013-11-23.
14. ^'Area Attractions Fort Worth Chamber Chamber of Commerce'. Fort Worth Chamber. 2000-04-22. Retrieved 2013-11-23.
15. ^'Oklahoma: Casino resorts prove good gamble'. Smallmarketmeetings.com. Retrieved 2013-11-23.
16. ^'Casino resorts are on an expansion roll throughout the South'. Meetingsfocus.com. Retrieved 2013-11-23.
17. ^'Academy of Country Music :: Nominees'. Acmcountry.com. Retrieved 2013-11-23.
18. ^'World's Fifth Largest Casino, WinStar World, Opens New Hotel'. Prweb.com. 2009-08-06. Retrieved 2013-11-23.
19. ^'WinStar World Casino and Resort : Entertainment'. Winstarworldcasino.com. Retrieved 2013-11-23.
20. ^'WinStar Casino opens new hotel'. 500nations.com. 2009-08-06. Retrieved 2013-11-23.
21. ^'Winstar World Opens New Hotel, and Remodels Gaming Plaza'. Prweb.com. 2009-09-03. Retrieved 2013-11-23.
22. ^'WinStar, Choctaw Close Casinos to Prevent Spread of Coronavirus'. KXAS-TV. March 16, 2020.
23. ^Butcher, K. (April 10, 2020). 'Chickasaw Nation casinos, offices to remain closed due to COVID-19 pandemic'. KFOR-TV.
24. ^https://www.winstar.com/reopening/
25. ^'Stromberg Architectural Project Profile: WinStar World Casino'. Strombergarchitectural.com.
26. ^'TripAdvisor:WinStar World Casino Hotel, Thackerville'. Tripadvisor.com.
27. ^'Some of the Biggest Casinos in America - Refund Management Services'. Refundmanagement.com. 1 March 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
28. ^'Facilities - Winstar Golf Club'. Winstar.rexacademies.com. Retrieved 2013-11-23.

External links[edit]

Casinos near Austin are not super abundant. Therefore, I recommend you make the road trip to Oklahoma and enjoy the World’s largest casino, WinStar World Casino and Resort. Austin has so many events and cool things going on daily but every now and then it’s nice to find something that’s a day trip from Austin to have some fun.

Winstar Casino Thackerville Ok

WinStar offers a wide variety of slots, table games, poker and even bingo. Their entertainment options will keep you busy for several days. Also, WinStar has some great dining options with many choices available. Take a look at what all they offer and see for yourself if you’d like to visit this nearby casino.

Drive From Austin To WinStar World Casino and Resort

Depending on what part of town you live in, you could make it to WinStar in under four hours. That is of course, pretty dependent on traffic. It’s a straight shot most of the way right up I-35. However, I highly recommend that you make a few stops to enjoy the day trip out of Austin.

It seems to never fail that it rains on my way through Dallas from Austin. Luckily one of my trips to the casino gave me this beautiful rainbow view for a while throughout the trip. I took it as a lucky sign for my adventure. Sadly, that didn’t exactly pan out the way I had imagined. Either way I ended up having a good time and I will certainly be back.

Driving from Austin to WinStar casino can be a day trip from Austin, but I would recommend getting a room that way you won’t have such a long drive. There’s also plenty to do while staying there, so no need to hurry back home.

Finally, you’ve made it to the casino. Now it’s time to get a room. Finding a hotel near Winstar isn’t the easiest without making a drive. However, you can find several options about fifteen minutes away. Undoubtedly, if you plan on drinking then I highly suggest staying at one of the options offered at WinStar World Casino. As far as I’m aware Uber/Lyft are not in the Thackerville area. It might be worth checking nearby hotels for shuttle service to and from the casino.

A very beautiful resort hotel to stay in while wanting a casino close to Austin. By using my players club card the previous visit, I was mailed a promotion for two free nights stay Tuesday through Thursday, I believe. Gladly, I drove from Austin to this casino resort to redeem my free stay! Of course, I did spend what I would have on a hotel room while playing but it was worth it for a nice getaway. The room was spacious and very comfortable at this casino resort.

• Three large hotel towers
• 24-hour room service
• Connected directly to the casino floor
• Exclusive access to gorgeous resort-style pool
• No pets service animals are permitted
• Complimentary WiFi
• Bottled water
• Rainfall style walk in shower

The Inn is located pretty close to the casino resort but not connected directly. It’s really quiet with nice rooms but it doesn’t come with all the amenities offered at the resort hotel, including no use of their pool, unfortunately. Previously, I’ve stayed here a few times and they allowed me to redeem my free two nights stay here due to the fact that I brought my dog with me. Luckily, of all the times I stayed here, the rooms didn’t seem to be completely full, so it made the place feel more cozy.

• Pet friendly with 40 pound weight restriction and $25/pet fee
• Complimentary shuttle service to and from the casino
• Easy access with quick check in
• Blackout curtains
• Terrific customer service

Perhaps, you like to travel in your RV or camp with a tent. Without a doubt I recommend that you stay at the Fun Town RV Park. First time guests receive one complimentary night stay. Also, WinStar offers complimentary shuttle service to and from the casino.

• 50 foot back in sites
• 80 foot pull through sites
• Primitive camping
• Two dogs allowed but must not be aggressive
• Full hook ups available
• Exclusive swimming pool
• Laundry facilities
• 24-hour security
• WiFi
• Walking trails

Not only is WinStar Casino the largest casino within driving distance from Austin, but it is the world’s largest! After going through a large renovation in 2013, WinStar became the world’s largest casino at over 600,000 square feet. For reference on just how large this is, the closest in size in the United States comes in at 340,000 square feet. Who knew this casino close to Austin would have so much to offer!

Once you step foot inside any one of the many entrances, you will understand just how big the gaming floor really is. If your the type that really wants to take in the atmosphere and experience most of the games or slots available, then I recommend you plan for a couple day adventure. It’s easy to lose other guests in your party so I’d recommend setting a meeting time every now and then.

To get a better idea of the size, take a look at their floor plan. Something I found really unique is the way they have each area categorized into large cities. Examples include: New York (entrance pictured above), Beijing, and Vienna. As you walk through each section, you are transformed into a new city atmosphere. In my opinion, the designers did a great job with their floor formation at Winstar World Casino. Check out each city below to get a better idea of what each zone has to offer.

Another reason I love to go to WinStar is that it’s owned by the Chickasaw Nation, a tribe that I belong to myself. I can speak personally by saying that the Chickasaw Nation Native American Tribe takes care of their tribe people. They have helped me numerous times with education costs (books, clothing and tuition) as well as health care. The net income generated at WinStar goes toward a wide variety of services for Chickasaw Native Americans. Some of the services provided include transportation, youth and family support, and housing.

If you’re the type that loves to play while visiting a casino resort, then surely you will not run out of options at WinStar. Stretching a mile long, you can find a wide variety of choices.

Having over 8,500 electronic games, the choices may seem endless. Enjoy your time at WinsStar with the largest collection of electronic games in the world. I really enjoy the progressive machines, but you can find the video poker and classics too.

If pumping money into a slot machine isn’t your idea of gambling then check out the wide selection of table games at WinStar. Favorites such as blackjack, roulette, and craps are just a few of the several options.

Looking for places to play poker near Austin just got a lot easier with a short road trip. 55 tables take up WinStar’s poker room hosting weekly tournaments. I can’t say that I have been brave enough to try my hand at it yet. Although, I will say that I have taken a peek several times and this room is always bustling.

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday’s are the days to make that day trip from Austin. Over the weekend is when the bingo hall is open presenting 651 seats for those chance takers. Be sure to use your club passport card for extra rewards.

If you’d like to feel like a VIP while gambling then be sure to check out the three separate high stakes areas. You can spend anywhere from $1 to $100 on a single spin at Belvedere, Crown, or Regal High Stakes rooms. Be a high roller; you deserve it.

Global Event Center At WinStar World Casino and Resort

I’m highly impressed with some of the names that have passed through this global event center. Reba McEntire, Maroon 5, Sting, Bob Dylan, and one of my all time favorite comedians, Jerry Seinfeld! There’s also a lot of really great upcoming shows coming to WinStar’s Global Event Center. Seating for 3500 brings in a large amount of guests, but nothing I don’t think WinStar can’t handle with all the space they have in their resort and casino. I’m always so busy gambling, eating, and relaxing when I end up at WinStar, unfortunately I haven’t had the pleasure of attending any shows, but I plan on doing so soon!

Find upcoming live events like Ron White, Gary Allan, Pitbull, Alabama, and more!

One of my favorite reasons to visit a casino is to try out their buffet. I don’t know if this is from my many trips to Las Vegas, or just all in my head. I think that in most casinos the buffet is the best restaurant choice. Not only best choice, but I find the buffet typically offers way better and it’s more extensive than any Austin buffets that I have experienced. Therefore, that is why I’m always on the hunt for casinos near Austin. At least that’s what I tell myself.

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Gran Via Buffet at WinStar Casino has yet to disappoint me and I have been several times over my many trips searching for a casino buffet near Austin. There’s certainly something for everyone on the buffet and prices start at $10.99 for children and $18.99 for adults with senior discounts available.

Buffet dining isn’t for everyone or every occasion. Although, there’s no need to look beyond the casino for other dining options. If you hit it big and want to be treated like royalty then check out Kirby’s Prime Steakhouse with Mickey Mantle’s Lounge. Looking for a quick bite is easy to find spread out along the mile long casino floor. On the other hand, there’s also plenty of casual dining ranging from Italian cuisine, fish and chips, and even a Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill.

Monday-Friday from 3-6 pm. Offering $2.50 domestic bottled beer, $6.00 glasses of sommelier chosen wine, martini’s half off, and select appetizers discounted by 50%.

Dine at Vino’s Wednesday, Thursday or Sunday to take advantage of their 2 for $25 promotion. Your meal for two will include salad, bread, and dessert.

All day every day $2.50 cans of PBR, Coors yellow belly (original), and Modelo Especial. Monday-Friday from 3-7 pm you can enjoy $3 Corona, Corona Light, and Corona Premier. As well as half priced domestic beers.

Complimentary cheeseburger and fries for soldiers with military ID.

You can enjoy this casual dining option 24/7 with midnight specials. From 12-6 am indulge in a 5 dollar special consisting of three pancakes and two eggs. Also, for 6 dollars you can get an All American with two eggs, toast, diced potatoes, with bacon or sausage. Last but not least, for $7 you might be ready to call it a night with the cafe’s offer of a 6oz New York Strip, potatoes, toast, and two eggs. Talk about some really terrific meal choices to wind down your evening of fun!

It seems that there is always some sort of promotion, if not two, going on. Therefore, if it’s your first time visiting, then make sure you sign up for the player’s club card. Typically, the casino will give away free bonus play money, discounted meals, lower rate rooms (sometimes complimentary), and offers via mail for future discounts as well.

Once you sign up for your club card, make sure you insert into all the slot games that you play. That way your points will add up and accumulate into deals given by WinStar!

Choctaw Casino Durant

• Resort Pool & Cabanas
  -If you book a room, be sure to check out the pool area at WinStar. Especially because it's very luxurious and a great way to take a break from the casino floor. In addition, cabanas can be rented for the ultimate pool-side experience that accommodates up to four guests comfortably with a ceiling fan and personal refrigerator.
• Golf Club & Tournaments
  -Take advantage of two championship 18-hole courses. Don't be intimidated by the beauty, these courses are designed with all skill levels in mind.
• Spa
  -Relax and unwind with a spa treatment ranging in facials, waxing, or a full body deluxe stone massage. Also, couple massages are offered as well, which can be a great way to rejuvenate together with your loved one.
• Fitness Center
  -Complimentary 24-hour fitness center is offered to guests staying at the resort. Thus, stay entertained with their TV's while running on a treadmill or hitting the elliptical machines.
• Entertainment Nightlife
  -Friday nights from nine to midnight you'll find live music at the Rotunda Bar. So be sure to check out the Global Event Center for upcoming shows. Usually I find some pretty awesome upcoming performers listed.
• Shopping
  -You won't find a ton of shopping at Winstar Resort, but if you forget a toothbrush or want to pick up a souvenir then you shouldn't have any issues spending some time browsing their shops.
• Host Event
  -Winstar is a great place for corporate events and conventions. Offering space as large as 21,000 square feet, therefore your guests won't feel crowded. Business meetings usually end up being quite boring, no need to worry about that here.
• Wedding
  -Plan your special day to be memorable for you and your guests as well. WinStar's unique venue is sure to please any size crowd with it's 15,000 square foot grand ballroom. Catering options are abundant for any type of wedding.