River Spirit Casino announced plans today for their Grand Opening Weekend Celebration May 1, 2 and 3. Jenny Cross, Director of Marketing at River Spirit Casino, explained, “We are celebrating the opening of River Spirit Casino with three days of exciting giveaways and FREE live entertainment! This is definitely an event you won’t want to miss.” The weekend will kick off on Friday, May 1, beginning at 9 am. The first 3,000 guests will receive a River Spirit Casino commemorative chip as a FREE gift. This special chip giveaway will also occur on Saturday and Sunday at 9am for the first 3,000 guests to visit the casino each day. The excitement continues on Friday, with a chance to win a limited edition 2010 Chevrolet Camaro, as well as 19 other cash prizes. At 9 pm, Derek Sholl will perform a variety of country favorites in the Mystic River Lounge. On Saturday, May 2, the 1st annual River Spirit Derby will run from 2-7 pm, with a chance to win $500 cash. There will be delicious southern food at Visions Buffet and mint juleps served as guests watch “The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports” broadcast on the big screen. Saturday evening, the Mystic River Lounge will rock when Blues Traveler hits the stage with a FREE live performance at 9 pm. Known for their unique combination of alternative, psychedelic and blues-rock, the band’s top hits include “Run-Around”, which won a Grammy Award in 1994, as well as “Hook” and “But Anyway”. Blues Traveler has appeared on David Letterman and Saturday Night Live and recorded songs for several film soundtracks including Kingpin, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls and Blues Brothers 2000. The weekend will wrap up on Sunday, May 3 with Greg Miller’s Tribute to Elvis. There will be two great performances beginning at 10 am and another at 2 pm, bringing the powerful voice, dazzling energy and youthful good looks of Elvis at his peak. In addition, the buffet will be serving some of Elvis’ favorites including jelly donuts and peanut butter and banana sandwiches. “We’ve gone above and beyond to make this Grand Opening Celebration a fun-filled weekend for all of our guests,” added Cross. “This is just the beginning of even more great things to come from River Spirit Casino.” The new $195 million River Spirit Casino, located just south of the existing casino at 81st and Riverside, includes one of Oklahoma’s largest gaming floors. The 300,000 square-foot casino features state-of-the-art amenities including 2,800 high-tech machines, 24 table games, 15 poker tables, four dining venues and the uniquely-designed Mystic River Lounge.