WinStar World Casino Review

The WinStar World Casino and Resort located in Thackerville, OK is by far the largest Casino in the state of Oklahoma and offers a spacious 519,000 square ft gaming floor. Located right on the Oklahoma-Texas border (Exit 1 on Interstate 35), it is not only popular to its home-state residents, but also to those in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and many other parts of the midwest.

Conveniently located in-between Dallas and Oklahoma City, WinStar originally opened it’s doors 2004 and is owned & operated by the Chickasaw Nation. Since opening, it has underwent several large expansions, one of which added an additional 1,000 hotel rooms. Aside from its sheer size it also offers many benefits, and if you have never been here, it is definitely worth checking out.

Casino at WinStar

After it underwent a large expansion in 2009, which added another 1,000 hotel rooms and an all new casino area, WinStar became the largest casino in the United States based on its gaming floor size. One unique aspect of the WinStar casino is its layout. It offers eight main casino areas which each feature a design modeled after different popular cultural locations of the world including Paris, New York City, Rome, Madrid, London, Vienna, Beijing and Cairo. This also helps you navigate the casino much easier, considering it is such a massive place.

If you do end up visiting Winstar, be prepared to walk. To get from one end of the casino to the other is probably over a mile of indoor walking. This is somewhat inconvenient, considering the casino is spread out over only one floor, compared to other casinos which can be 2-4 stories. If you or someone you’re with are disabled, however, they do offer services including golf cart transportation to help you get around.

Each of its casino’s offer all the latest electronic games and table games, from Blackjack and PaiGow to Wheel of Fortune, Mr Money Bags, Cleopatra, video poker and much more. WinStar features over 7,000 electronic games which range in value from 1¢ to $100 and everywhere in-between. They also have several high limit rooms for both slots and table games, and even offer a large designated penny slot machine area.

High Limit Rooms

As we briefly touched on above, WinStar offers many high limit rooms throughout each of its gaming areas. From our experience, each room is clean & well maintained, and they generally have good overall service. The large selection of high limit rooms means you can usually find a table to fit your needs, from $25 to $1,000 minimums and everything in-between.

Depending on what day of the week you are visiting, the high limit rooms are usually pretty quiet and you are generally able to find your own high limit table. This is beneficial if you’re someone like me and prefer to play games like blackjack heads up with the dealer. One thing to keep in mind however, is that you do have to pay 50 cents for wagers up to $99 and $1 for wagers of $100 or more on all table games.

Poker Room at WinStar

Though it is not as well-known as other poker rooms, such as the Borgata for example, WinStar does offer a fairly large poker room which includes a total of 46 tables. Their poker room is about 19,000 square feet, so it is pretty spacious and is also smoke-free which can be a plus depending on your preferences. The WinStar poker room also features a large high limit area.

Restaurants and Bars at WinStar

As you might expect from the largest casino in the United States, WinStar does not disappoint in regards to its dining options. It offers a diverse range of restaurants and bars catering to all ethnicities, tastes and budgets. Whether you lost all your money and are looking for a cheap slice of pizza, or are on vacation and looking to splurge, there is something for everyone.

From personal experience, I haven’t had any bad run-ins with the food here. Many of the bars here, like the Palladium Sports Lounge for example, do offer free drinks if you are playing video poker which can be a plus. Dining options include everything from pizza, to buffets, american grills, cafes and much more. The full dining options you’ll find at WinStar include:
Specialties

• Gran Via Buffet
• Capisce Ristorante Italiano
• The Grill

Casual

• Chips ‘N Ales
• El Fenix
• Khan’s Fire Mongolian Grill
• Legend’s Bar & Grill
• Matadors Pizzeria
• NYC Burgers & Dogs
• Terrace View Cafe
• Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar and Grill

Cafes and Fast Foods

• Dairy Queen / Orange Julius
• Le Paris Bakery & Cafe
• Panda Express
• Red River Cafe
• Red River Grill
• Winning Picks

Bars & Lounges

• Aces Lounge
• Palladium Sports Bar
• Pool Bar
• The Rotunda Bar

One of my favorite options which I have come to appreciate at WinStar, and have not found in other casinos, is their coffee/drink stations which are located throughout the casino. At these stations, you can make your own coffee free of charge or choose from a variety of different sodas/drinks. This means you do not have to wait around for employees to come by or tip anyone. These areas are generally well stocked and include sugar and creamer.

Club Passport & WinStar Promotions

WinStar does offer its own player’s card which goes by the name “Club Passport.” If you are not already a member, you can sign up for a players card and receive free play. Their player program is tiered so that you receive 1 point for every $10 played. For every 100 points earned with your club passport card you receive $1 in free play. Like most other reward programs, having a card will also give you discounts on rooms as well as access to exclusive events and promotions.

WinStar Hotel, Spa & Ammenities

As we mentioned in the beginning of our review, the WinStar World Casino underwent a large renovation in 2009 which added a substantial amount of rooms. From our experience (even with over 1,500 rooms) it is not uncommon for them to be booked, so it will do you well to call in advanced to check availability if you are planning a stay here. Since many of the rooms are fairly new, they are up-to-date and fairly nice, but nothing special.

Depending on your level of play and the day of the week you’re planning your stay, you can often get free rooms if you call them beforehand. If you are unable to book a room however, there are several other hotels within a few miles of the Casino. One of the closest and most convenient towns we’ve found to have the most hotel options includes Gainesville, TX which is a few miles away.

Aside from the hotel, the WinStar Casino offers several additional amenities. Within the hotel area of the resort, you’ll find two large pools as well as a boardroom and a ballroom for special events and business meetings. Aside from this, they also have a fairly large golf course.