HARRAH'S CASINO CHEROKEE AT VALLEY RIVER 10-08-15

Did You Know? BLOGS

Our local area holds 6 NC fishing records and 2 GA fishing records

Striped bass, 66 lbs, Hiwassee Reservoir, Tyler Shields

Bodie bass, 17lbs 7oz, Lake Chatuge, Michael R. Hogsed

Smallmouth Bass,10lbs 2oz,Hiwassee Reservoir, A. Lampkin

Brown trout, 24lbs 10oz, Nantahala River, Robert Lee Dyer

Kokanee salmon, 4lbs 1oz, Nantahala Lake, Jeffery T. Smith

Walleye, 13lbs 8oz, Lake Chatuge (Shooting Cr.), L. Cofer

Hybrid bass, 25lbs 8oz, Lake Chatuge, David Hobby

Smallmouth Bass, 7lbs 2oz, Lake Chatuge, Jack Hall

Murphy, NC is one of the few places in the world where fairy cross stones are found. These stones are Staurolite that is naturally formed in the shape of a cross.

According to Cherokee legend, they were formed by the small moon-eyed peoples’ tears that fell to the ground when they heard Christ was crucified. The local museum has a large collection of fairy cross stones as well as a moon-eyed people statue found in the 1800s.

Other areas where fairy cross stones can be found are Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee (some with garnets), New Mexico, Brazil, and Switzerland.

Cherokee County, NC, the most western county in NC, was named to honor the Cherokee Indians who inhabited the area before their removal to Oklahoma in 1838.

Approximately 800 indians escaped removal and are now recognized as The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (ECBI) whose headquarters is located in Cherokee, NC, which is actually in Jackson & Swain Counties.

Today the EBCI owns 2 casinos; Harrah’s Cherokee Casino in Cherokee, NC (Jackson County) and Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River Casino in Murphy, NC (Cherokee County).

The Cherokee County Courthouse in Murphy, NC is constructed of blue marble that was quarried in the tiny Cherokee County town of Marble.

The courthouse is on the National Registry of Historic Places.

Ok, so maybe you did know that, but did you know there are still huge chucks of this beautiful marble laying all over the ground where the quarry was many years ago?

The famous Christmas hymn “I Wonder As I Wander” was written by a composer after hearing child sing it on the street in Murphy, NC.

The song has been recorded by many famous artists and choirs for decades.

Harrah’s Casino Cherokee at Valley River
10-08-15

After years of planning and construction the Casino opened in Murphy, NC at 2pm on September 28th. Traffic was backed

up for 3 miles in anticipation of the grand opening! People filled the town from all over the states and stood in line for over an

hour to be part of this exciting event. The casino has over 15,000 sq ft of gaming floor, accompanied by a food court,

bar, and a beautiful full service hotel. It has been one of the largest events ever in our little town and as a local the traffic

was a little overwhelming, but like most small towns, we locals know the backroads 🙂

The day after the grand opening, traffic had totally calmed into a steady stream that no longer blocked or slowed down the

4-lane traffic and I decided it was time to see the casino with my own eyes. The 29th, after all, was National Coffee Day, so

my 14 year old daughter HAD TO HAVE Starbuck’s. I picked the kids up from school and off to the casino we went, which is

literally 3 minutes from the school. We turned into Casino Dr. and are greeting by a smiling familiar face; the traffic

director was one of my buyers. He, along with his wife and daughter moved back to Murphy after he got out of the military a

few months ago and had purchased a new home.

As we winded around the casion road, the kids’ eyes were as big as saucers. They were in shock that this huge structure is

tucked away in our little town. You can only see the top of the hotel from the 4-lane, so they had no idea how big it actually

is. We parked really close to the front and went into the main entrance. There was a heavy presence of security separating

the food court from the gaming floor, allowing all ages to enjoy the food court. We order our Starbuck’s and began to walk

around the food court. We stopped at the Panda Express where I saw another smiling familiar face working the wok. About

a month ago, he, along with his wife and daughter from Hong Kong moved to Murphy and bought a home in town. Their

daughter will finish out high school here.

As a local, born and raised, the fear of what might come from the casino and the traffic it brings scared me. Right now the

effects have been wonderful. I have several friends who have been driving for years back and forth to Cherokee to work,

they are now working here. I have be blessed to work with numerous buyers moving here to work at the casino and almost

all of them have families that will be attending our local schools. We have buyers still coming to retire here and buyers

investing in vacation rentals. We have more new home and land packages to offer buyers than we have had in ten years. It

is so nice to see young families moving here, because now they can find employment, and the dream of moving to the

mountains to raise a family is no longer just a dream..it is a reality.