Kings Mountain casino plans celebration

The Catawba Two Kings Casino in Kings Mountain has hit a milestone with its first anniversary.

The casino opened July 1, 2021, with 500 gaming machines and expanded in December to 1,000 gaming machines, including electronic table games. The casino now counts more than 100,000 members in its loyalty club.

An on-property sportsbook is planned to open before football season, bringing sports wagering to the Charlotte region, and a food truck will be added soon. The Catawba Compact with the State of North Carolina also allows the possibility of adding video poker, which the casino is considering.

“As we celebrate the first anniversary of the casino, we are grateful for the support we have received and proud of what we have been able to do for the Cleveland County and Kings Mountain community,” said Trent Troxel, vice president of the Catawba Nation Gaming Authority. “The casino has provided jobs and is doing very well, and we are continuing to add amenities for our guests.”

The casino is celebrating the anniversary beginning Friday and running through the weekend with live DJs, musical entertainment outside the casino and free-play promotions for patrons. There will be daily drawings to give away three new Jeeps, and the bands playing throughout the weekend include Next Level of Charlotte, which will play at 10 p.m. Friday. 

The casino is located at 538 Kings Mountain Blvd, Kings Mountain, just off of I-85.

Full casino resort update

Infrastructure work is also underway on two key projects needed for development of the permanent casino resort and thus being funded by the Catawba Nation: Doubling the size of the Dixon School Road Bridge over I-85 near the casino entrance and new sewer lines.

“Plans for the full casino resort are being finalized and necessary agreements are undergoing a thorough review by the National Indian Gaming Commission,” Troxel said. “A timetable for construction is anticipated to be announced later this year. It’s a large and complex development project, and we are continuing to work through it.”

The full casino resort project is expected to create thousands of construction jobs in the region and 2,600 permanent jobs at full buildout.