Cherokee Casino names new general manager

McReynolds will help oversee the casino’s transition to a new building on the same property off U.S. 64 on Cherokee Boulevard in Roland.

McReynolds, a Cherokee Nation citizen, has served as the casino’s operations manager since 2011. The general manager position had gone unseated for several months following the move of Rusty Stamps to Cherokee Nation Entertainment’s Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa.

Cherokee Nation Entertainment’s new 170,000-square-foot venue is expected to open in May, featuring 850 electronic games, table games, two dining venues and convention space. The 120-room resort-style hotel will be completed in the following months. The project will add 100 new jobs.

The current casino, which began in 1990 as the Cherokee Nation Bingo Outpost, is 50,000 square feet and has more than 600 electronic gaming machines. It was the Cherokee Nation’s first gaming operation.

A Cherokee Nation citizen with more than 20 years of operational management experience, McReynolds says he was always interested in the gaming industry and became a card dealer as a way to get his foot in the door.

“The gaming industry was always intriguing and seemed like a great way to make a living,” McReynolds said in a news release. “During my years at CNE, not only have I loved the job, but I’ve also come to appreciate the great things the Cherokee Nation is doing with its gaming profits. It gives a greater sense of purpose knowing the work we are doing improves services and creates more jobs for the Cherokee people.”

The Cherokee Nation’s $100 million health-care program, which is supported by casino profits, aims to improve coverage with a new hospital in Tahlequah, clinic expansions in Sallisaw and Stilwell, and new clinics in Jay and Ochelata.

McReynolds joined Cherokee Casino Roland in 2003. He has worked as a card dealer, concessions attendant, cashier, materials manager, poker manager, card games manager and operations manager.

“Chad is a great example of our commitment to developing Cherokee leaders within the organization,” said Mark Fulton, chief operating officer of Cherokee Nation Entertainment. “We look forward to watching his continued growth, especially given the vast expansion this property is undergoing.”

Cherokee Nation Principle Chief Bill John Baker said in January that Cherokee employment at Cherokee Nation Entertainment venues is higher now that it has ever been, moving from 50 to 75 percent in recent years.

Following graduation from Sallisaw High School in 1988, McReynolds moved to Hayward, Calif., and studied business administration at Chabot Community College. In California, he worked as a facilities manager for a “just-in-time” logistics company that served numerous industries. He focused on military clients onn the west coast as well as  the Pacific Rim.

Back in his home state, McReynolds has built a reputation for helping area kids participate in Future Farmers of America and raising cattle, according to the release.

Cherokee Nation Entertainment is the wholly-owned gaming, hospitality, retail and tourism entity of the Cherokee Nation. The company operates Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa; seven Cherokee Casinos, including a horse racing track, three hotels andthree golf courses, amongother retail operations.