Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Sioux City
Sioux City, Iowa
Iowa’s newest casino is mixing it up as much as possible. The triple threat — hotel, casino, concert venue — lets the rock ’n’ roll out in its outdoor music venue, the Backyard, and keeps music’s biggest names exclusive at its state-of-the-art indoor concert venue, Anthem.
Like a radio station bringing the hits of yesterday and today, the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Sioux City keeps its musical lineup surprising with a mix of today’s top alternative rock acts, including Daughtry and Parmalee, and internationally renowned acts that appeal to earlier generations, such as the Goo Goo Dolls and 38 Special.
As if the entertainment offerings weren’t enough juxtaposition, the high-octane brand has located the hotel in a historic building, the downtown Battery Building, and uses the former train cargo drop-off for its grand entrance. Built in less than one year, the casino includes table games and more than 835 slot machines.
Groups looking for rooms in the hotel should book well in advance, as the tony boutique-style property has just 42 rooms and 12 suites, each mixing old and new as nimbly as Anthem’s concert lineup.
www.hardrockcasinosiouxcity.com
Bordertown Casino
Wyandotte, Oklahoma
When the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma opened its Indigo Sky Casino two years ago this fall, tribe leadership made a tough choice and closed its Bordertown Casino to focus on its new venture.
But after two successful years of running Indigo Sky and in honor of the 75th anniversary of the tribe’s recognition by the federal government, it has decided to reopen and rebrand Bordertown as the Bordertown Casino and Arena.
As the former Bordertown building has not been torn down or repurposed, the new casino will be completed quickly and is expected to open in early February as a country-Western-themed venue, complete with rodeo bulls performing in the 800-seat arena.
Although Indigo Sky focuses on card games, gaming at the new Bordertown will be focused on slots, with 600 machines. But the tribe expects the event spaces and live entertainment to be the big draw, as it’s lining up everything from concerts to boxing matches to tribal gatherings in the new space, which will be the only one of its kind in the area.
