Cherokee Nation Entertainment has opened the company’s fourth hotel at Casino West Siloam Springs.

The seven-story hotel tower on U.S. Highway 412 is the tallest building between Tulsa, Okla. and Springdale, Ark. The hotel features 140 rooms and seven suites, three meeting rooms, a fitness room and an upscale coffee shop.

“We are so very proud of how far the Cherokee Nation has come in the last ten years,” said Chad Smith, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. “In the early part of this decade, this property was just a small bingo hall with a few dozen employees. Today it is a magnificent facility employing more than 800 Cherokee citizens and other local residents. The opening of this hotel is just one more way the Cherokee Nation is helping to spur economic development of the entire region.”

Cherokee Casino West Siloam Springs was originally built in 1994, but has undergone many reincarnations over the years. Today it is a tourist destination for the entire region.

“The addition of a hotel to this property has created a true vacation destination for northwest Arkansas and the entire region,” said David Stewart, CEO of Cherokee Nation Businesses. “We expect to draw visitors from other parts of Oklahoma, as well as Arkansas, Missouri and other states. That kind of traffic also helps neighboring businesses and is a catalyst to new development. This kind of prosperity helps not only the Cherokee Nation, but the states of Oklahoma and Arkansas as well.

The hotel and casino design is reminiscent of a time of rising nationalism from the 1780s to 1830s era, prior to the Cherokee Nation’s removal from the southeast United States to Indian Country in present day Oklahoma. The hotel features artwork from Cherokee artists depicting traditional Cherokee games and life.

“When there is an opportunity to tell the story of the Cherokee people we are happy to take it. What we have here is an opportunity to represent our culture through our gaming operations,” Smith said.

The opening of the hotel has brought an additional 60 jobs to the property, bringing the total number of employees to more than 800. The original casino opened in 1994, employing 79 workers.