Hospitality

Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River Casino & Hotel is a mainstay of entertainment in Murphy, North Carolina. Owned by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and managed by Caesars Entertainment, the nation’s largest casino-entertainment group, Harrah’s Cherokee was positioned for a huge expansion that would take its offerings to new heights.

CBMC was brought in during the late stages of development to wrangle Harrah’s rapidly bloating lighting budget and unlock some critical cost-savings to keep the project on track for their grand opening.

Harrah’s $275 million expansion would add nearly 30,000 feet to its casino floor as well as build a 12-story hotel from the ground up. That called for extensive interior and exterior lighting for security, visibility and guest comfort.

By the time CBMC was brought onto the project, the Caesars project team had already selected some great fixtures for both the casino and hotel sides of the expansion. They just needed help making ends meet without compromising their vision.

With the Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River Casino & Hotel expansion already well underway, CBMC was brought in just in the nick of time. We helped untangle two major lighting snags that threatened to throw the entire project off budget and off timeline.

The fixtures that project team had agreed upon for the casino and hotel expansion were a great fit for the property, but not such a great fit for their budget. And that’s not to mention the extensive lighting controls that would be needed to complete the package. 

CBMC stepped in as an experienced partner to help rein in lighting costs across the board.

With our 25 years of expertise in value engineering, the CBMC team leaped at the opportunity to bring the property’s vision to life within budget and without compromise. We were able to source the same fixtures that the project team loved from alternate manufacturers at a much better price.

The results? Lighting savings of nearly $2 million. That’s a massive weight off the Caesars team’s shoulders as they balance budgets for both the casino and hotel sides of the expansion.



Locking in excellent pricing on the chosen lighting fixtures was a major relief. But since CBMC was called in with the project already underway and deadlines getting closer and closer, shaving lead times on fixtures became just as important as shaving costs.

Long story short, the property needed lighting and they needed it ASAP. That’s where CBMC’s tenure really paid off. 

During our 25 years in the industry, we’ve made our fair share of connections with trusted manufacturers across the states. We leveraged our access to more than 250 suppliers to match needs with cost-effective solutions that could be delivered well within the necessary timeline.

Timeliness matters, no matter how far off project deadlines are. If you need lighting miracles to happen, lean on CBMC to work our magic.

The hotel at Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River Casino & Hotel is still under construction, but the highly anticipated casino expansion celebrated its grand opening in spring 2024. Caesars and Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River had nothing but praise for the expansion, and were happy to see increased revenue just a few short months later.

If you find yourself bumping up against the limits of your budget, that doesn’t mean it’s time to compromise your vision. There are ways to unlock huge savings on your lighting — you just need a tenured partner like CBMC that knows where to find them.

You don’t have to wait until your project is already underway to get the best pricing on lighting. Call on CBMC early in the process. Our design team can assist in specifications and photometrics, and we’ll make sure that you lock in savings as soon as possible.