The destination, though, is the same: Cherokee, N.C., and specifically Harrah’s Casino. From Greensboro, riders can sleep in a little later. In Florence, S.C., pickup comes at 5:45 a.m. Eager travelers wait in lamp-lighted parking lots for their air-conditioned rides to pull up, hiss their doors open and load their human cargo. The tour buses crank up their engines before dawn. While the Cherokee tribe and the region have benefited economically from the casino dollars, some are concerned that it’s taking attention away from the culture and history of the Cherokee people. Another 1.4 million visited Harrah’s newer Valley River Casino & Hotel in Murphy, which opened four years ago. Last year, 4 million visitors passed through the doors to the casino, to its 1,000 hotel rooms and to its 24-lane bowling alley and concert venue. On a casino floor approaching the size of three football fields, the roulette tables and slot machines are open for business 24 hours a day. No pool, no hot tub, no spa, just take, take, take by Harrah's.The business of casinos is transforming some areas of Western North Carolina and creating jobs, but that may be a mixed blessing at best. A few minutes later I went to the counter to get my food, and they told me they forgot to charge her the 10 cents for tax! 10 f-ing cents! I was beside myself I was so angry! What a shame at how bad the corporate greed has become. She asked for another and they charged her $1. My wife got a salad at the cafe, they gave her 1 dressing packet. I had 3 staff members (1 security and 2 food service) remark to me about how cheap this place is. No food comps no matter how much you play (have to use reward credits). Soda is free, but it is served in little plastic cups (~ 6 oz). What a joke! Casino gives you almost no comps. Someone comes and sprays the room, but it still stunk afterwards. We walk in, and Holy S***, did it reek of cigarette smoke! We call down again, so WE don't get charged the $200 cleaning fee. So they moved us to another 'NON-smoking' room. Really? Out of 200 hotel rooms, ours was the ONLY one with no service!? I call BS on that. A few hours later, still no Wi-Fi, so we called to complain again, and they said it was only our room with no service. The front desk blamed it on the rain, which I thought was a pretty shady and lazy excuse. What a joke! We booked 3 nights at the hotel for a NON-smoking room, driving 6 hours for a promotion that my wife 'won.' When we checked in, we had no Wi-Fi service.

Harrahs casino is it open