Closest Casinos Near Charlotte, North Carolina with Map
Residents or visitors to Charlotte wanting to get their gamble on will have to hit the road, as there aren’t any “real” casino resorts in the immediate area.
The recently-opened Catawba Two Kings Casino in King Mountain is just 35 miles west of downtown Charlotte, however for now it consists only of 29 modular trailers containing 500 electronic games (with 500 more on the way). The Catawba Tribe does have plans for a massive 1/4 billion dollar plus casino resort on this site (more on that below).
While casinos are spreading throughout the country, there are only three casinos in the entire state of North Carolina.
Adding to Charlotte’s casino isolation is the fact that neighboring states to the north (Virginia) and south (South Carolina) do not have casinos either, (at least not yet).
The Tar Heel state used to have horse racing tracks, and even video poker machines for a while back in the 2000’s, but now the only gambling options now for Charlotte-area residents are lottery games, charity bingo games, or a road trip to one of three Indian casinos to the west.
Closest Casino to Charlotte, NC
The Queen City’s nearest “real” casino is a Native American-owned Harrah’s casino located three hours to the west of downtown Charlotte.
Situated 165 miles west of Charlotte, Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort is the closest casino to Charlotte.
The drive, most of which takes place on Interstate 26, usually takes around three hours. However if making this drive on Friday afternoon, you can see this time extend close to four hours.
Run and operated by Caesars Entertainment, the casino is owned by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. They also own the Cherokee Valley River Casino in Murphy. (More on that later).
(Here’s the driving route from Charlotte “A” to the Cherokee Casino Resort “B”. The black star is the Catawba Two Kings Casino.)
Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort
Not only is this casino popular with Charlotteans, its location near the entrance to The Great Smoky Mountains National Park means it sees a lot of tourist traffic as well.
Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort sets on 56 acres just outside tiny Cherokee, North Carolina. Built in 1997, it was North Carolina’s first casino.
The 150,000 square foot multi-story casino is spacious and open, with a contemporary vibe, having just completed a $330 million dollar expansion in 2021.
All total, there are 3,100 slot machines and video poker machines here, with limits up to $500 per spin.
And although the casino opened back in the 1990’s with just machines, there now are 150 live table games. These include regular real live craps, blackjack, roulette, along with games like Let-it-Ride and Three-Card poker.
You’ll also find electronic baccarat games and those shared electronic roulette games where everyone plays at their own monitor, as a community dealer spins the roulette wheel.
On top of that, there’s a special Asian themed gaming area, a popular 32 table WSOP poker room, and the newer Caesars Race & Sportsbook – complete with a 90 foot screen, betting windows and betting kiosks.
Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort’s lineup of eleven restaurants include everything from a Dunkin Donuts to a Ruth’s Chris Steak House. You also have your standard casino café, a buffet, a Johnny Rockets, Starbucks, as well as quick service pizza Asian noodle restaurants.
An enclosed pathway over the pretty Soco Creek leads from the casino to the hotel. Cherokee’s Casino Resort’s four hotel towers combine to provide a total of just over 1,800 rooms and suites.
Other amenities include both an indoor pool and a newer outdoor pool (open seasonally), which has a poolside bar and cabanas available for rent. The Mandara spa boasts of 18,000 square feet of pampering.
Guests staying at the hotel also have access to the nearby 72 Sequoyah National Golf Club.
There’s also now over 115,000 square feet of meeting/conference center space, and the resort’s 3,000 seat events center has hosted acts ranging from Willie Nelson to Penn and Teller, Tony Bennett to Lady Antebellum, among others.
A new addition to Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort is what they call the “Ultrastar Mult-tainment Center”, which is a clever way of saying, “bowling alley.”
The Ultrastar Multi-tainment Center has 24 lanes of bowling, the Soundbytes sports bar, a spacious arcade, and Strikes Lounge.
Please note that unlike Las Vegas casinos, you won’t be served free alcoholic drinks here, however they are available for purchase. Please also note that drink service ends at 2 AM every night.
Self-parking is free here and there are two large multi-story parking garages attached to the property. I believe valet parking is free as well.
Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort Address, Phone & Website
777 Casino Drive
Cherokee, NC. 28719
(828) 497-7777
Website: Caesars.com/Harrah’sCherokee
Catawba Two Kings Casino
Just 36 west of downtown Charlotte, this to-be-built casino resort will be the closest casino by far to the Charlotte region when it opens. We’re talking 130 miles closer than Harrah’s Cherokee Casino.
In July 2021 the Catawba Tribe opened their temporary casino digs, consisting of the aforementioned red colored pre-fab trailers full of 500 slots (and no table games) with 29,000 square feet total. However demand was so good, that the casino opened up an expansion with 500 more electronic gaming machines in December of 2021.
Located on a large parcel at the intersection of Kings Mountain Boulevard and I-85, the new casino will have 195,000 square feet, 1,800 gaming machines, over 50 table games and a 1,500 room hotel. Ground has yet to be broken, and the project has been delayed. According to a Spectrum 1 News story, National Indian Gaming Commission is investigating some financial aspects of the project.
Catawba Two Kings Casino Address, Phone & Website
538 Kings Mountain Blvd.
Kings Mountain, NC
28086
Website: TwoKingsCasino.com
Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River Casino
North Carolina’s other casino resort is the little sister to Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort.
Owned by the same Indian tribe, it’s called Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River Casino, and is 223 miles from Charlotte in Murphy.
While newer than the Harrah’s in Cherokee, this casino is much smaller than it’s older sibling, with about a third of the machine count and square footage.
That, combined with the fact it’s 58 further miles away, means that most gamblers from Charlotte stick to Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort.
Other Casinos Near Charlotte
With the Commonwealth of Virginia now allowing four towns to offer casino gambling, a fairly close casino to Charlotte is in the works.
It’s called, Caesars Danville, in Danville, Virginia, 138 miles northeast of downtown Charlotte. The $500 million dollar project will renovate an old textile mill. They hope to open in November of 2023.
The other casinos in Virginia will be in Bristol (162 miles away), as well as the more-distant, Norfolk, and Portsmouth.
Another option for gambling near Charlotte is a trip south to a casino boat.
Called the Big “M” Casino, these two casino boasts sail out of Little River, South Carolina, (just north of Myrtle Beach). It’s 183 miles away from downtown Charlotte.
The ships go out to sea, (in international waters outside of U.S. and state gaming laws), and return on that same day. There is a fee to ride on one of the Big “M” ships, with weekday sailing prices starting at $20.
(By Steve Beauregard. Photos courtesy of Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort)