Harrah's Cherokee Casino and Hotel, Announces Beer & Wine Sales on Casino Floor

Beginning December 21

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. December 17, 2009

CHEROKEE, NC, December 14, 2009 - Harrah's Cherokee Casino & Hotel announces that it soon will begin serving wine and beer on the casino floor. Beginning December 21, guests will be able to purchase beer and wine from Beverage Servers or at any of the service bars located around the casino. Beer and wine sales will be cash-only. Full bar service on the casino floor will be added in the near future, but presently is available only in the casino's VIP Lounge and hotel restaurant outlets.

Guests may purchase beer and wine on the casino floor from 7 am to 2 am Monday through Saturday, and from noon to 2 am on Sunday. Harrah's Cherokee is recruiting additional bartenders and investing in new beverage service equipment to further enhance the guest experience.

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, owners of Harrah's Cherokee, approved an alcohol referendum last June allowing beer and wine service, followed by spirits, in the property's hospitality outlets. Recent approval by the North Carolina Attorney General's office and a permit from the tribal Alcoholic Beverage Control Board (ABC) now extend the beverage service to the casino floor as well.

Wine and beer service on the casino floor, along with the current complement of specialty cocktails and spirits available in the VIP Lounge, restaurants and cafes are among the newest amenities introduced as part of the property's $633 million expansion and diversification effort that will position Harrah's Cherokee Casino & Hotel as the premier gaming destination in the Southeast and a world-class entertainment and tourism destination. Scheduled for completion in 2012, the expansion is the most significant hospitality development currently underway in the Southeast and one of the largest in the U.S.

The 37-acre property's “Master Plan” for its hotel and casino will add a third hotel tower with 532 new luxury guest rooms and suites, enabling Harrah's Cherokee to provide the greatest number of accommodations in North and South Carolina. Other additions include a 3,000-seat events center, entertainment and VIP lounges, 18,000-square-foot spa, all new state-of-the-art digital poker room, Asian gaming room, several new restaurant options and retail outlets, and new hotel and casino parking garages.

Harrah's Cherokee also is renovating its current casino facilities and doubling the size of its casino floor to 195,000 square feet.

Recently opened as a guest amenity is nearby Sequoyah National Golf Club, an 18-hole, par 72 championship course designed by golf architect Robert Trent Jones II and Native American golf pro Notah Begay III. Owned by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and managed by Troon Golf, prominent developer, marketer and manager of upscale golf properties, the course is available to guests at Harrah's Cherokee who have privileged access through Harrah's Cherokee Service Connection Center and Casino Host Teams.

Harrah's Cherokee Casino & Hotel is an enterprise of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation, located 50 miles west of Asheville at the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Harrah's Cherokee Casino is open 24 hours a day to guests 21 years of age or older. For more information about Harrah's Cherokee, please call 1-800-HARRAHS or visit the web site at www.harrahs.com.

For further information, contact:

Joan Bloom/Joan Brower/Allyson Freedland
The Dilenschneider Group
200 Park Avenue, MetLife Building, 26th Floor, New York, NY 10166
Tel. +212-922-0900; Fax +212-922-0971
E-mail: [email protected]/[email protected]/[email protected]

Charles Pringle
Harrah's Cherokee Casino & Hotel
777 Casino Drive, Cherokee, NC 28719
Tel. +828-497-8329; Fax +828-497-8811
E-mail: [email protected]