Keetoowah Cherokee Casino

It does smell a lot like smoke, even when nobody is there. I can explain about the machines – the Keetoowah only have Class 2 gaming [bingo based machines.] It’s sort of like going back in time, all casinos in Oklahoma used to be like this prior to 2004.
I have heard the food is good, but I’ve never tried it. I did win $ 17 on a single dollar playing there, so I can’t complain too much, they may be bingo machines but they aren’t as tight as the casino down the road…
This tribe is always in legal wrangling over their status, but I understand stuff is starting to go their way so maybe they will be able to move into Class 3 gaming soon and be more in line with the other tribes’ casinos.
UPDATE: Casino has been closed due to the legal wrangling I mentioned, not sure if they will reopen. It’s been closed since summer of 2013, and the court case is ongoing.

This place is just sad! And it smells everyone and their grandma be smokin up in there! I’m pretty sure I left with a sinus infection! My clothes smell like ass now. Skip this casino!

GAMES
Slot Machines & Video Slot Machines
— Min: $ 0.01
— Max: $ 1.00?
Well, I’ve never reviewed a casino before. Not sure how to grade one, but I figured this one deserved mention, albeit a bad one. Since this is my first casino review, let me offer my general take on them. First, there are what I call «Gambling Resorts» like Las Vegas, Atlantic City, and cruise ships. These are generally casinos where the majority of people are there just to have fun. Sure, a lot get carried away, lose their money, and die, but hey, it’s Vegas! and they’re on vacation! The problem with local casinos, like Horseshoe, Majestic Star, etc. (near Chicago) is that they’re filled with locals, and the vibe is that a lot of them went from paycheck to currency exchange to casino, only to have the slot machine eat an entire week’s meal and rent. It’s a very depressing atmosphere. Even with very nice and bright casinos like Horseshoe, that may rival Vegas casinos like Circus Circus, it still has the same depressing atmosphere.
So how was this?
ATMOSPHERE
From the road it looks like a shipping container. You turn in, and at first I’m aghast at the size of the parking lot (enormous!), and then the # of cars (so many!). Also, from the parking lot, it now looks like 3 shipping containers! Then you go inside.
Depressing. It’s dark, dingy, and if they turned on all the lights, I bet you wouldn’t even notice. The darkness and depression would literally suck it all out. Now, remember, it’s only slot machines. No table games or anything! What makes it worse is that there are broken slot machines along the wall. Some are off, some have a giant error on the screen, and some even have masking tape posting an «Out of Order» sign on it. If Horseshoe and Majestic Star feel depressing, this place is absolute despair! But I guess it’s not all bad. They at least have free soda! They also have a smoking and a non-​smoking section.
GAMES
If you’re going to be that much of a buzzkill as to not have ANY table games, at least have some decent slots. I don’t play slots, so I don’t know what those are, but I do know of Wheel of Fortune and Deal or No Deal, but they definitely don’t have any of those. I’ve played in Vegas (or even Horseshoe/​Majestic Star) to know of Cleopatra’s something or other, but they don’t even have that. They don’t even have video poker! They have a few (literally few = 3) mechanical slot machines at $ 0.25, $ 0.50, and $ 1.00, but everything else is mostly video slots with adjustable bets of only $ 0.01 to $ 0.10, so even if you win something, it’s not going to be that much. I’ve never seen any of these slots before, even the progressive ones.
QUICK TIP
From their website: All cash out tickets must be claimed within 24 hours.
FOLD ‘EM!
This place is pretty bad. No fun, and I just can’t get over how depressing it looked. I suppose the draw is that minimum age is 18, but it’s not like I saw any of them around. It was mostly 60+ in there. Some of those people look almost as depressing as the casino, I hate to say. I did turn my $ 1 into $ 2, so I guess all is not bad, lol!