Other tribes may soon get in on the action. The new casino will be only about half the size of the Cherokee facility, but that still means 1,200 slot machines and 300-plus hotel rooms. Later this year, the Cherokee will open another casino on tribal land outside of Murphy, North Carolina. Operated by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, the complex attracted 3 million visitors and generated over $500 million in gambling revenue in 2013. With more than 1,100 hotel rooms, 3,800 slot machines, and 150,000 square feet of gambling space, Harrah’s Cherokee Casino and Resort is one of the twenty largest casinos in the world. Gambling is a big business in North Carolina, and it’s about to get bigger. 2015-262 now excludes from local property taxes all property sited on land held in trust for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, effective for the 2016 tax year and beyond.
