I visited the Harrahs Cherokee Casino in North Carolina while visiting family in Tennessee. My brother and I went there to play poker on Dec 30-31, 2016. I played 1/2 NLHE cash games for most of the time and played the $135 tournament.
We got near-immediate seating in a new cash game after we arrived. The dealers and floor were actively trying to sell the $135 nightly tourney. After grinding for about 5-6 hours, I was sitting on $135 profit and decided to parlay that into the tourney.
The $135 tournament was raked pretty high (100 to prize pool, 35 to casino) and we had 125 players enter, including re-entries that ran through the break after level 7. Nothing too interesting about the tourney. It was the typical rapid decent in the number of BBs you have. I was forced to shove 22 with about 3 BBs in level 8 or 9. I spiked a set against two callers and rivered a boat. This gave me the steam I needed to chug on through to the money. I was card dead with about 3.5 BBs as the blinds passed through me on hand-for-hand bubble play. I survived the blinds with less than 1 BB and made it into a min cash for $211 after 4 1/2 hours of play.
The next day, we put in a 13-hour session. The hand of the day had me against a competent LAG player. He raised preflop and I called with 88. I flopped a set, turned quads, and doubled up against his full house (at least that's what he said he had). A long day of grinding for a profit of $106, but a win is a win...
About the room:
We stayed at the Days Inn across the street at about $171 for the night for basic accommodations - nothing fancy. I found all of the dealers to be pleasant and professional. The other poker players were also pleasant. The cash game rake was 10% up to $7 which is fairly high. There were no bad beat jackpots or high hand promotions, which I liked. I think they had about 20 tables, most of which were full on the dates we were there (New Years weekend). The floor personnel were very efficient at keeping the waitlist moving. The casino itself seems expensive. It is run by the Cherokee tribe and seems to have a live poker monopoly in NC, southern VA, eastern TN, and northern GA. Coffee and soft drinks are complementary but not alcohol ($4 - $5). No food service at the tables but the food court and Brio restaurant are close. Free parking. 9 players per table for cash games, 10 for tourney. Chairs are 4-legged chairs and not swivel. Bring your Total Rewards card or get one here. I think I got $1 per hour in comp dollars, some of which I used at the food court for my $16 sandwich, chips, and drink. The poker room is upstairs and is smoke free. There is sometimes noise from entertainment in the theater next door or in the open area downstairs, but is otherwise fairly quiet - no annoying slot machines. All-in-all, a great poker room if Vegas is not convenient for you.