Visiting Cherokee NC casinos

I'm off to visit friends who live near Asheville, NC. And, that's all the excuse I need to hit the Cherokee casinos in NC. I'll be at the Valley River casino on Tuesday afternoon and evening (20-Sep) and at the original Cherokee, NC casino on Friday afternoon and evening (23-Sep). Will any WoV'ers be in the area then?

I couldn't find trip reports more recent than Doc's (with rdw4potus) in Oct-2015. I haven't yet been to the new casino, and it's been several years since my last visit to the original casino. If I understand correctly, they have MS-Stud, but the Internet web sites for the casinos don't show that game. Mostly, just 3CP (and BJ, which I don't play). Can anyone clarify what is actually on offer?

The Murphy casino gave me a free comp nite, which was a surprise because I seldom play at the Harrahs Gulfcoast casino when I visit Biloxi. That was great because hotel rates on Friday in Cherokee were higher than normal because of the Gold Wing motorcycle event in town. Even though this won't be much of a gambling trip, I expect you'll see a trip report once I get home. Stay tuned.

How was your trip? Cherokee is my home casino. I live about 2 hours away. Would love to meet up with people who play there sometime. Murphy often offers comp nights as it is new and they are trying to drive traffic there. It's small but a fun environment if you go with a group.

Quote: northface80

How was your trip?

Thanx very much for joining this crazy crew and for pinging me about my recent Cherokee trip on your first day posting! (I sometimes wonder if folks even care about the out-of-the-way, hole-in-the-wall casino venues.)

Well, it was a quick, hit-and-run gaming trip. Tuesday, 20-Sep, at Murphy's Cherokee Valley River Casino, where I found the $10 3CP and MsStud tables exceedingly cold. So, the casino pretty much scalped me. It also had 3-2 BJ (dunno details) and $25 mini Baccarat. No Ultimate-X that I could find. Also, 5/6 and 5/7 JOB $1 video poker. Saw $5 table games on Wednesday morning, but did not play.

Then, Wednesday and Thursday visiting friends who live near Asheville, which was actually the main focus of the trip.

Friday, 23-Sep, I drove to Cherokee, but did not stay in the casino hotel. I checked, but was told a room would cost $600 for the night, and I about fainted. When I identified myself as a (low-level) TR member, they said, "For you, only $500 a night." So I stayed at Rivers Edge Motel and found it nice. But at just over $150 the 1-night rate seemed a bit high (even for a Friday) until they explained about the Gold Wing motorcycle event going on that weekend. The gasoline pipeline break concerned a lot of folks, but none more than the motorcyclists because the hi-test gas they use was very scarce.

Cherokee casino had $5 and $10 tables for 3CP, MsStud, LIR, and 4-Card Poker, but I didn't play. Instead, I anchored myself at the electronic craps machine for about 8 hours, enjoying myself but ultimately walking away down a little. On Saturday, I drove home.

Because it's about twice as far for me to go to NC as it is for me to go to Biloxi, I usually play in Biloxi. The Biloxi casinos compete for my business, so I usually stay for free and often eat for free. No competition in NC. But, it's nice to stop by if I'm in the neighborhood.

Lucky (...not so lucky this trip.)

Yeah they pretty much have a monopoly in Cherokee due to the entire county being dry except the casino. Also, there's nowhere else to gamble within decent driving range. Supposedly, some group is trying to get a casino approved in Atlanta which will cause some serious competition that may make them drop their rates and provide better offers.

I have a fairly attractive offer right now to go to Biloxi but haven't decided yet.

My fiancée and I returned from Vegas about a week ago. Spent 4 days at CP so we are thinking about heading back and perhaps staying at another CET property.

I was curious about your experience because I have either been extremely lucky at Cherokee or lose horribly. It's rarely in between.