Resort News

Choctaw resort debuts new hotel and casino one hour's drive from Dallas

It's a popular destination for the proverbial staycation.

Photo courtesy of Choctaw Resort and Casino

An entertainment destination for many North Texans has opened a much anticipated major expansion: Choctaw Casino & Resort in Durant, Oklahoma, has debuted the new Sky Tower Hotel and a casino, expanding its status as a quick getaway destination.

The new hotel is 21 stories tall and has 1,000 rooms, and comes with a collection of new restaurants, lounges, and entertainment options, plus a collection of Choctaw art. Two new pools are rumored to be coming soon.

This expansion has been in the works since 2019, and is the fourth major upgrade at the resort and casino since the property debuted in 2006. It makes it one of the largest gambling resorts in the U.S.

Choctaw Casino & Resort–Durant is a three-level convention/entertainment venue whose amenities include swimming, shopping, dining, and spa, plus The District, an entertainment complex with dining, drinks, bowling lanes, 70-game arcade, and movie theater.

This expansion adds 3,300 additional slot machines, table games, a new poker room, new restaurants, bars, movie theaters and three-acres of swimming pools.

Choctaw is in southeastern Oklahoma, a mere 100 miles from Dallas, and with its combination of casino and other amenities is a popular weekend staycation option. Choctaw also has a number of trails and state parks nearby.

Heidi Grant, Choctaw's Executive Officer of Gaming & Hospitality, says in a statement that the expansion adds modern touches to the resort, with some whimsical touches including art on the ceilings. "Every detail is intentional," Grant says.

They're also hosting a pair of special exhibits in partnership with Coca-Cola:

Find Yourself at Choctaw – a Digital Mosaic Experience. Located in the South Entrance to the Sky Tower, this interactive experience takes photos of participating guests and adds them to a larger-than-life digital mosaic. Guests who submit to photos can find themselves added on August 13-14, August 20-21, and August 27-28. Those who participate get a printout of their photo, access to the digital mosaic made up of all the collected images, and other giveaways.

Live Art Installation
Watch the history of Choctaw Casino & Resort - Durant come to life through the eyes and work of Choctaw artists Steven Paul Judd, Antonia Belindo, Dylan Cavin, D.G. Smalling, and more. Each weekend in August, one artist will host a live art installation where you can watch the artists at work. August 13-14, August 20-21, and August 27-28 in the Sky Tower South Entrance.

vacation

Airline mayhem

Passenger who was duct taped on Milwaukee-to-Dallas flight arrested

Courtesy photo

Duct tape

An unruly man who was duct-taped by fellow passengers on a flight from Milwaukee to Dallas has been charged for assaulting a flight attendant.

According to a release from U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton, Abdul-al-Jabbar Oloruntoba Olaiya, 29, was charged via criminal complaint with interfering with a flight crew by assault or intimidation within the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States.

Olaiya injured a flight attendant in an attempt to exit the plane mid-air.

According to court documents, on November 19, roughly two hours into the flight from Milwaukee to Dallas, Olaiya became frustrated with the flight attendant as she worked the forward galley.

Witnesses told law enforcement they heard Olaiya say he was “captain of this flight” and needed to “get off the plane.”

He then allegedly charged the flight attendant in an attempt to access the aircraft exit door. The flight attendant, identified in court documents as S.J., used her body to shield the door and was injured in the scuffle.

Other passengers rushed to assist, tackling Olaiya and duct-taping his wrists and ankles, then keeping him subdued for the rest of the flight. With only 30 minutes left, the pilots continued to DFW, calling the tower for priority landing and taxing. The incident made national news.

Once they landed, Olaiya was removed from the plane by officers and taken in for a mental evaluation. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office and the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport Department of Public Safety conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Levi Thomas is prosecuting the case.

transportation