The Catawba Nation and key partner Delaware North on May 20 opened the first phase of the $1.25 billion Catawba Two Kings Casino in Kings Mountain, N.C., near Charlotte – a new milestone in a major gaming project for the company.
The first phase, known as the introductory casino, features 1,350 slot machines, 36 electronic table games (ETGs), 22 traditional table games, 68-seat restaurant, 18-seat bar, high-limit area, sports betting kiosks and player rewards desk. It is replacing the highly successful temporary casino that opened in July 2021 and represents the first portion of the new overall development to open.
Several Delaware North team members supporting the casino opening pause for a photo with Trent Troxel, vice president of the Catawba Nation Gaming Authority. From left to right are Louis DiCampli, vice president of table games; Kevin Keens, senior director of design & construction; Troxel; Michael Carruthers, vice president of gaming operations; and Paul Arsenault, director of gaming systems and projects.
Delaware North – which since 2019 has worked with the Catawba Nation in myriad ways to help fulfill their vision of a casino to bring economic benefits to their citizens – serves as the consultant on gaming and hospitality, as well as the developer.
Delaware North CEO Lou Jacobs, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Jamie Obletz, Gaming President Jason Gregorec and Chief Corporate Affairs Officer Jack McNeill were among a large contingent of company leaders who attended and supported many aspects of the opening, including gaming (slots and table games), food & beverage, design & construction, procurement, security, marketing and communications.
The contingent also toured the overall casino complex under construction, guided by Chuck Kilroy, Delaware North’s lead consultant for Catawba Two Kings Casino, and the development team, led by Greg Dauberger, vice president of design and construction; Kevin Keens, senior director of design and construction; and Mark Middlestadt, project manager.
The overall casino, which has a projected spring 2027 opening, will be about 2 million square feet and feature a 24-story, 385-room hotel; 4,300 slot machines; 100 table games; 11 dining outlets, including a steakhouse, Italian restaurant, marketplace with six venues, café and grab-and-go outlet; a players lounge; 11 bars, including a center bar and sports bar; and 3,500 parking spaces via the 2,700-space parking garage built under the casino complex and 800 surface parking spaces.
As the doors to the introductory casino opened at 10 a.m., hundreds of excited patrons streamed into the new space, which features elegant casino décor and high ceilings – a marked enhancement from the environment of the temporary casino, which was housed in an adjacent series of prefabricated container structures and limited to an enclosed food truck and café counter for food and beverage options. The introductory casino houses 250 more slot machines and eight more table games than the temporary casino featured.
Prior to the opening, crews moved about 600 slot machines from the temporary casino to the introductory casino and installed about 750 new slot machines and 22 new table games in the new space on the massive development’s first level. The first and second levels of parking in the new complex opened to accommodate introductory casino patrons.
Work on the permanent casino resort began after a June 2024 groundbreaking ceremony. A significant construction milestone was reached on Oct. 27, 2025, with placement of the final beam atop the casino during a topping-off ceremony.
At left: Trent Troxel, vice president of the Catawba Nation Gaming Authority, addresses members of Charlotte-area media before showing them the new casino space. At right: Michael Warrick (center), a reporter with Charlotte’s WBTV, interviews a patron during the casino opening.
The project has already created hundreds of construction jobs. Upon completion, the casino resort will employ an estimated 2,200 local residents and citizens of the Catawba Nation and have a significant positive economic impact on Kings Mountain, Cleveland County and the state of North Carolina.
The project is being led by Catawba Nation Chief Brian Harris, the Catawba Nation Executive Committee and the Catawba Nation Gaming Authority, with Vice President Trent Troxel as its onsite representative. In addition to Delaware North, partners include Yates-Metcon as the construction general contractor; Square One Consultants as the owner’s representative; and SOSHNY Architects.