Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort

Proposed in 1994, Harrah’s Cherokee Casino – owned by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) – opened to the public in 1997, and has grown steadily ever since, with major expansions undertaken in 2002, 2005, 2009 and 2018. Today, Harrah’s boasts 150,000 square feet of casino space, four hotel towers with a total of 1,833 rooms, a convention center with a ballroom, and a vast array of restaurants and recreational facilities. As the facility has grown, so has the scope and nature of Alpha’s relationship with EBCI and operator Caesars Entertainment. In the early years, we competed for every project by participating in RFPs, but the clients’ growing confidence in Alpha’s ability to provide services comprehensively led them to name Alpha as their official integrator partner. “We’ve earned their trust over the years, and we re-earn it on every project,” says Alpha’s vice president, Lance Hutchinson.

“There’s only one way to cultivate a lasting relationship,” says Hutchinson. “It’s all about performance. If you don’t perform, you’re out. It’s really that simple.” But performance isn’t just one thing. Meeting budget and timelines is certainly a measure of getting the job done right. So is being responsive and attentive – being there when you’re needed, anticipating client needs, and having answers at the ready so that a job can be brought to conclusion with a minimum of stress and the fewest number of surprises. What’s also essential is the value add: the ability to translate a client’s wish or need into a solution that builds on the original vision, yielding a result that’s better than imagined. “Our goal is always to beat expectations,” says Hutchinson, “and our deep understanding of the client’s vision, audience, culture and, of course, their infrastructure enables Alpha not just to perform, but outperform – in Harrah’s case, year in and year out.”

As the Casino’s principal AV technology partner, Alpha focuses on multiple strategic objectives. Among them: providing guests a best-in-class technology experience; designing and integrating technology to reinforce Harrah’s brand and the Tribe’s culture; and continually working to simplify and streamline technology operation and maintenance. Alpha’s partnership with Harrah’s fuels progress on all these counts. The centralized technology management provided by Alpha also mitigates disruption from equipment failures, employee turnover, and industry supply-chain issues. More than that, the level of familiarity that the Alpha team has cultivated with Harrah’s maximizes our speed and cost-efficiency in providing solutions customized to the client’s needs. “Alpha isn’t cookie cutter,” says Lance Hutchinson. “We do custom all the time, but we make it simple to manage and maintain, and the closeness of our relationship with Harrah’s significantly amplifies those strengths.”