As Catawba Indians celebrate $1B NC casino, chief says tribe plans a second one
The Catawba Indians plan to build a second casino, Chief Brian Harris told hundreds of tribal members on Monday.
“We have a spot,” Harris said at the end of a speech before a ceremonial final beam was placed on top of the tribe’s $1 billion North Carolina casino under construction.
Catawba Two Kings Casino and a hotel have sprouted after months of construction off Interstate 85 exit 5, about 35 miles west of Charlotte.
Many in the audience laughed when Harris told everyone to “get ready for the second casino,” thinking he was kidding.
Harris didn’t elaborate and couldn’t be reached later for comment.
Glen White, spokesman for Delaware North, the consultant for the $1 billion casino, said Harris and casino officials “will have no further comment” about plans for a second casino.
Securing the tribe’s future
The $1 billion casino is more than a building, Harris told the crowd. “It represents the rise of a nation,” Harris said.
The casino will secure the future for tribal youth and be a legacy for the tribe, he said.
The casino resort will employ about 2,200 tribal members and local residents, tribal officials have said.
The Catawba have been on the land for thousands of years, Harris said, and have always supported the U.S., including during the Revolution.
When the Cherokee joined with the British at the 1780 Battle of Kings Mountain, “Gen. Washington called for (help from) the Catawba,” Harris said.
“We won,” Harris said about the Patriot-Catawba victory.
U.S. Rep. Tim Moore, R-Kings Mountain, knows all about the battle.
In a brief address at Monday’s ceremony, the former N.C. House speaker congratulated the Catawba and noted a centuries-old thread in common with the tribe.
“I was born and raised in Kings Mountain,” Moore told the gathering, and his ancestors, too, fought on the patriot side at the Battle of Kings Mountain.
When will the casino open?
On social media later Monday, Moore said the casino “will be a game-changer for our region and will benefit the Catawba Nation for generations to come.”
The project’s first-floor “introductory casino” is scheduled to open in spring 2026 with 1,350 slot machines, 22 table games, a 68-seat restaurant, an 18-seat bar, sports betting kiosks and a rewards desk. The introductory casino will replace the current, single-story one that opened in July 2021.
The casino building also will include three levels of covered parking, a back-of-house level and a top story with the main casino floor and restaurants.
Work also continues on the 24-story, 385-room hotel, “which is at full height and being connected to the casino,” according to a Delaware North statement.
The overall, two-million-square-foot casino is scheduled to open in spring 2027, including the hotel; 4,300 slot machines; 100 table games; and 11 dining outlets, including a steakhouse, Italian restaurant, a marketplace with six venues, a café and a grab-and-go outlet.
The casino also will have a players lounge; 11 bars, including a center bar and a sports bar; and 3,500 parking spaces, consisting of a 2,700-space underground parking garage and 800 surface parking spaces.
This story was originally published October 27, 2025 at 4:51 PM with the headline "As Catawba Indians celebrate $1B NC casino, chief says tribe plans a second one."