In the gaming world, much emphasis is placed on potential.

Facilities often tout numbers of slot machines, table games and average winnings. But ICTMN found 10 Native-owned casinos and resorts that combine state-of-art gaming options with stunning architecture and design, offering guests the best of gaming, and an authentic cultural experience.

Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino; Niagara Falls, New York

Owned by the Seneca Nation, this 26-story hotel and casino near Niagara Falls is infused with Native references, said Rob Chamberlain, senior vice president of design and construction.

The tower, topped with a single feather pointed straight upward, announces to visitors their arrival into Seneca Country. A motif of rolling hills appears on the tower’s glass façade, signifying Seneca’s place as the “People of the Great Hill.”

Cultural references continue inside the facility, Chamberlain said. Those include symbols in the stonework, restaurant names that reflect the Seneca heritage and artwork displayed throughout.“It is very important to the people of the Seneca Nation that our guests get a feel for the long and proud history, culture and heritage of the Seneca Nation,” Chamberlain told ICTMN.

Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino; Hollywood, Florida

The Hard Rock brand may be prominently featured on this 140,000-square-foot casino, but the Seminole Tribe of Florida has found ways to incorporate cultural design into the accompanying resort.

Visitors to the pool can find shade in chickee huts, the traditional Seminole shelters found in the Everglades. The huts, made from local tree trunks and palm fronds, have thatched roofs, raised floors and open sides.

“They were used in camps as the Seminole fled from U.S. soldiers who were trying to ship them off to Oklahoma,” said Gary Bitner, spokesman for Seminole Tribe of Florida. “Now they are glamorous, with wide-screen TVs, furniture, refrigerators, everything you need pool-side. But frankly, among the guests there is a positive response to learning the chickees are traditional Seminole homes.”

Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort; Cherokee, North Carolina

A natural creek runs through this 56-acre property owned by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, separating the casino and the 1,100-room hotel.

Inside, rooms are decorated with woodcarvings, sculptures and paintings that depict Cherokee legends, said Ray Rose, regional VP of resort operations. The interior design also includes subtle symbols and patterns derived from the culture.

The exterior design is less subtle, Rose said. Inspired by the surrounding landscape, the facility reflects the Cherokee reverence for nature. “On the outside, it’s designed to really have a strong correlation to the beautiful mountains,” Rose said. “The colors, designs, even the roof-lines mirror the mountain ridge lines behind it.”

Coeur D’Alene Casino Resort Hotel; Worley, Idaho

The Coeur D’Alene Tribe points to its “welcome home philosophy” as a winning feature of this woodsy casino resort.

“One of our biggest things is our tribal hospitality,” said Quanah Matheson, cultural affairs director for the Coeur D’Alene Casino Resort. “We’re welcoming people into our home and giving them a piece of our love.”

The facility capitalizes on this sense of home, Matheson said. It includes an interpretive center; restaurants that serve locally caught fish, wild game and berries; and an award-winning golf course named after Circling Raven, a Coeur D’Alene chief who prophesied of coming hardships.

Surrounded by countryside, this facility showcases natural beauty and tribal history at every turn, Matheson said. Architects designed the buildings to mimic the traditional longhouse structure and to let in as much of the outdoors as possible.“People are surrounded by the natural things: birds, trees, prairies, lakes,” he said. “It’s about making people comfortable by bringing the natural beauty indoors so they’re surrounded by rock and wood, even inside.”

Prairie Band Casino & Resort; Mayetta, Kansas

This prairie meadow casino is off the beaten path in rural Kansas. Owned by the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, this destination bills itself as “having all the amenities of a five-star resort, but in the middle of Kansas,” said marketing director Anthony Bertino.

In addition to more than 1,100 slot machines and a 300-room hotel, the property also boasts considerable Native connections, Bertino said. For example, hotel suites are named after the bands of Potawatomi Indians and artwork abounds throughout the casino and hotel.

But the most obvious ties to Potawatomi culture can be found in the exterior design, Bertino said. “I think foremost, we’re in the prairie, so we have this rock prairie architecture,” he said. “And we have traditional fireplaces everywhere.”