OKLAHOMA Owners have big plans at casino

Traditional slot machines are nowhere to be found.
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
THACKERVILLE, Okla. -- Less than five minutes after you zip past the Oklahoma border on Interstate 35 heading north, you'll see it: a mammoth building that, with its mountainous architecture, resembles a circus big top, not a dazzling, glittery casino.
Based solely on its nondescript exterior, and with construction constantly rumbling around it, the WinStar Casino hardly looks now like a "Vegas-style" casino, as it describes itself to the media. But, upon its completion in a few years, the WinStar is betting on overshadowing the monstrous casinos of Bossier City, La. WinStar has odds on stealing away a few of Las Vegas' highrollers, too.
Indian casino
Owned by the Chickasaw Nation Indian tribe of Oklahoma, and opened July 30, the casino already has a good selling point for North Texans: It's only about an hour away. And it's a straight shot up I-35. Take exit No. 1 in Oklahoma. Hang a left where you see the sign, and you're there. To get to Bossier City, you're looking at a three- to four-hour drive.
"That's one of our main selling points," says general manager Glen Coleman. "It's very close to the Dallas/Fort Worth area. It's very easy to find. And it's very easy to get around in."
For the most part, the 110,000-square-foot casino -- an outgrowth of a gaming center that opened there in 1993 -- is off to an impressive start. There are two casino rooms with two different themes: The Mariachi Casino has a Mexican-fiesta atmosphere, and the Center Ring Casino touts a circus vibe. More than a thousand electronic slot machines -- including about a dozen high-stakes slots -- light up and jingle throughout the spacious, busy rooms. It's the largest casino in the state, Coleman says.
Traditional slot machines, the ones in which you pull a handle and cross your fingers, are nowhere to be found; these are state-of-the-art, all-digital machines that do not dispense money. Winnings are electronically stored on credit-card-size gaming cards. Gamblers turn them in at the cashier's cage to receive their winnings.
Card tables
Card tables have yet to be installed -- "They're in the works," Coleman says -- but there is off-track betting on horse races and a two-room, 800-seat, high-stakes bingo facility. The bingo rooms are divided into smoking and nonsmoking (the casino itself allows smoking).
Three restaurants are open: Stone Ranch, an upscale steakhouse; Midway Food Show, a pizza/burger food court; and the Bread Basket Buffet, which offers an impressive assortment of food, including sugar-free desserts. The bingo parlor has its own snack shop.
Alcohol is not served; there are two help-yourself soft-drink stands in both casino rooms.
Finally, WinStar offers a kids arcade, with video games and other kiddie time-occupiers, and the Showplace Theater, a 600-seat live entertainment room that hosts concerts, comedy acts and live productions.
Some kinks
As with any new business, there are some kinks to work out. The area around the cashier's cage, for example, can get irritatingly convoluted. Ditto for the main entrance, where gamblers pick up their gaming cards. Both areas are too tiny to accommodate the loads of people who visit the casino; you're going to stand in some long lines.
As WinStar expands, so will those lines. A hotel is scheduled to open sometime next year. Additional casino rooms, a recreational-vehicle park, golf course, bowling alley and a first-run movie theater are also in the works.
"It's going to be more than just a casino," Coleman says. "It'll be a family-friendly entertainment complex. We have big plans for it."
WinStar is open daily 9 a.m. to 6 a.m.
XFor more information, call (800) 622-6317 or visit www.winstarcasinos.com on the Web.