Fall will be very busy for the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, with three casino expansion projects coming online.

The largest project is a $52 million hotel tower to the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Tulsa. The tribe is adding 100 suites to the 350-room facility, in addition to 10,000 square-feet of dining and entertainment space, 45,000 square feet of gaming space and other amenities.

“I’ve been to a lot of casinos for other tribes, and I’ve looked at a lot of casinos at this stage, and my imagination is such that I believe this is going to be as nice as anything I’ve seen not only in Indian Country but casinos in Las Vegas," Chief Bill John Baker told The Cherokee Phoenix.

Parts of the expansion will debut in mid-September, with the remainder coming online later in the fall, the paper said.

The $18 million expansion of the Cherokee Casino in Ramona is due to finish later this month. The tribe is building a 31,000 square-foot facility and tearing down the existing one to make room for a bigger parking lot.

Finally, the Cherokee Casino in Fort Gibson is more than tripling in size to 27,500 square-feet. The $20 million project is expected to open later in the fall.

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3 casino expansions near completion (The Cherokee Phoenix 8/13)

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