A trip to a casino might not be top of mind for a San Antonio family getaway, but thanks to the recent addition of kid-friendly activities and amenities, several casinos just over the Texas border are increasingly popular options for all-ages road trips from Alamo City — especially since locals can get there and back on a full tank of gas.
Oklahoma resorts such as WinStar World Casino in Thackerville, Choctaw Casino in Durant, and Choctaw Landing in Hochatown are now enticing families with arcades, bowling alleys, movie theaters, splash pads, waterslides, and fireside s'mores. (Parents are kept happy with lavish spas, fine dining, concert venues, and plenty of blackjack, too.)
While gambling remains illegal in the Lone Star State, these expansive casinos will continue to lure Texans looking for a flight-free vacation. Here's a guide to three of the most family-friendly casino resorts within a six-hour drive of San Antonio. Whether or not the kids are in tow, a good time is a sure bet.
Choctaw Casino & Resort – Durant, Oklahoma
About 80 percent of guests at this 50-acre flagship location of Choctaw Casinos come from Texas. And believe it or not, many of those guests are children. Choctaw Durant is home to an expansive family-friendly pool with two waterslides, a splash pad, an arcade with prizes, a 20-lane bowling alley, and even a six-theater movie theater in an area called The District. The casino resort, which has gone under four major expansions since opening in 2006, even offers birthday party packages.
Miles from San Antonio: 364
Accommodations: More than 1,600 rooms across three hotel towers, including the Spa Tower, the Grand Tower, and the Sky Tower, which opened in 2021 and added 1,000 rooms.
Pool Scene: Families will find two waterslides and splash features on the kid-friendly side of AQUA, the casino’s newest resort pool complex that opened in 2022. Food and beverage service is provided to lounge chairs in all pool areas so parents won’t feel left out. AQUA also has an expansive adults-only section with a swim-up bar and occasional DJ music. There’s also the recently refreshed 21-and-up OASIS pool, which debuted in 2023.
Dining: With 20 eateries, there are options for all kinds of dining, from the high-end 1832 Steakhouse with its panoramic views to Smashburger, Velvet Taco, pizza, soft-serve ice cream, and an outlet of Guy Fieri’s American Kitchen + Bar.
Music & Entertainment: The Grand Theater seats up to 3,000 for concerts with big-name acts like Keith Urban, Turnpike Troubadours, Foreigner, and more. Choctaw Durant is also home to an outlet of the famed Gilley’s bar and dance hall, where there is free live music every weekend and a dance floor popular for two-stepping the night away.
Spa: Massages, facials, body treatments, and salon services are offered. Spa guests have access to men’s and women’s lounges, whirlpools and steam rooms, a co-ed relaxation lounge with reflection waters and a waterfall mineral bath, and a fitness center. The space also boasts two couples’ suites with a whirlpool soaking tub for two and a couple’s rain shower.
Gaming: More than 7,400 slot machines, about half of which are in the non-smoking Sky Casino, along with 100-plus non-smoking table games like craps, roulette, and blackjack. There’s also a 30-table non-smoking poker room with a dedicated staff and a spacious racebook with wall-to-wall TVs for betting on up to 18 different tracks.
Current Promotions: Choctaw Durant is giving away more than 4 million dollars this summer in drawings, with $1 million drawings happening on June 7, July 5, and August 2. Must be a member of the Choctaw Rewards Club to participate. Membership is free.
Rates: Starting at $139 for weekdays and $199 for weekends.
WinStar World Casino and Resort, Thackerville, Oklahoma
As indicated in the name, WinStar World Casino is widely considered the largest casino in the world, and it’s the closest to San Antonio at just over five hours away.
Swimming and pool fun are the primary activities for children here. And kids may walk through the casino to any dining destination if they are with an adult and don’t enter specific gaming areas. (Stay on the marked path and keep moving.) An in-room movie night with late-night snacks also makes for a great after-swimming activity. Pro tip: All WinStar rooms have microwaves, so pack the movie theater popcorn.
WinStar recently completed a multi-million-dollar renovation and expansion to debut a heap of new amenities, including a 26,000-square-foot spa, a new five-acre pool complex called Cascades, and a new entertainment venue for concerts and shows.
Miles from San Antonio: 341
Accommodations: Four hotel towers offer 1,700 rooms. Towers include the Casino Tower, Pool Tower, W Tower, and the new Spa Tower, which opened in 2023.
Pool Scene:Cascades is WinStar’s new multi-tiered, five-acre resort pool complex (opened in 2023) featuring bungalows, cabanas, daybeds, and multiple pools. A 360-degree bar with ample lounge seating anchors the new expansion, and there’s food and beverage service right to your lounge chair. Children are allowed in the majority of the complex – although the entire top tier is adults-only, as is the wading and sunbathing pool. Note that Cascades requires admission to enter (even for hotel guests), which starts at $25 for a lounge chair.
WinStar’s Terrace Pool also got a recent glow-up. There are now 13 private cabanas and a refreshed tiki bar, with more umbrellas and lounge seating, too. The Terrace Pool, with its shallow beach entry, is a popular family favorite.
Gaming: Games are grouped into themed sections named for highly populated international cities like Beijing, Paris, London, New York, Madrid, and more. There are more than 10,000 electronic games and around 100 table games. (Use the game finder to locate your favorite.) There are 55 tables in the smoke-free poker room, with tournaments happening all the time. WinStar also boasts traditional craps tables as well as very popular electronic craps that still allow players to roll the dice while using a keypad to enter their bets.
Dining: There are no kids’ menus at WinStar, but there are many family-friendly dining options, from Italian, Tex-Mex, and grab-and-go pizzas to quick-bite options with Taco Casa, Panda Express, and IHOP. Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill and the Dallas Cowboys Bar & Grill provide for game-watching, and other options range from fine dining at Kirby’s Prime Steakhouse to the Terrace View Café, the latter of which is not in the gaming area and serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner all day.
All pools also offer dining options with lounge service to your chair.
Tip for adults: The Rotunda Bar at the resort’s main hotel check-in area offers a daily happy hour with $2 draft beers and $5 appetizers – perfect pricing for when the luck runs out. However, note that children are not allowed in this area.
Music & Entertainment: After a three-year hiatus from hosting concerts, WinStar welcomed back live music in late 2023 with the opening of Lucas Oil Live, a new 6,500-seat entertainment venue. Upcoming shows include a sold-out Def Leppard concert in June and the I Love the 90s tour with Vanilla Ice, Tone Loc, Young MC, and more in July.
Spa: Located in a new 26,000-square-foot building is WinStar’s two-story relaxation oasis that opened in 2023. European amenities include saunas from Germany, heated ceramic loungers from Austria, and a hydrotherapy tub from Lithuania. Most services come with access to relaxation lounges, saunas, steam rooms, two kinds of showers (one called a “rinse” and the other called “experience”), heated benches, and an “ice room” that’s perfect for beating the heat. Services include facials, massages, salon service, hydrotherapy, and more. The spa is located just next to a new spacious fitness facility.
Current Promotions: Through September 1, guests can enter for a chance to win prize packages like Cascades Cabana Packages, David Lee Roth VIP Experiences, and a Grand Prize package
Rates: Starting at $169 for weekdays and $469 for weekends.
Choctaw Landing - Hochatown, Oklahoma
Tucked in the woods amid nearby trout streams in Oklahoma’s Beavers Bend State Park, this destination casino opened last year, adding resort-style lodging to the immensely popular Broken Bow area. Kid-friendly amenities fall right in line with the area’s identity as a family destination.
From the all-ages pool, outdoor play area on The Lawn, family movie nights, fireside s’mores, kid-friendly dining, and toys of all kinds at The Mercantile shop, amenities for little ones are many. Not to mention nearby hiking, fishing, horseback riding, kayaking, paddle boats, and train rides in Beavers Bend State Park, along with mini golf, bowling, mining, mazes, and more in Hochatown and Broken Bow.
Miles from San Antonio: 452
Accommodations: The lodge-style hotel offers 100 rooms with easy access to parking and complimentary valet.
Pool Scene: The large, heated resort pool is open to all ages and features hot tubs, a splash pad, cabanas, loungers, fire pits for evening s’mores, and peaceful pine tree views. The spacious pool bar, called Oka Sita, offers plenty of seating, corn hole, TVs for game watching, tropical cocktails, and grab-and-go sandwiches and snacks.
Dining:Tuklo Grill is Choctaw Landing’s anchor restaurant featuring Oklahoma’s take on Southern cuisine. With a full bar and easy access to both the casino and outdoor lawn, the restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, along with dishes with Native American influences like traditional frybread tacos. Chicken tenders, mac and cheese, cheeseburgers, hot dogs, and quesadillas round out the kid menu, and each item comes with fries or a fruit cup.
The Tuklo Deli sells Oklahoma barbecue and deli items to go, and there’s also a food trailer on the outdoor lawn called Cypress Grill that serves smashburgers, Indian tacos, and more.
Music & Entertainment: Perhaps the most standout amenity of Choctaw Landing is the sprawling plot of turf at the resort’s entrance. Called The Lawn, the string-lit space boasts a stage for weekend live music, movies, and sporting events, a kid-friendly play area, an outdoor full bar, balcony level seating, and a wall of beers on tap called Cypress Tap. Anyone, hotel guest or not, can visit the family-friendly space.
Gaming: The casino itself is small but boasts more than 600 slot machines along with 10 table games, including poker, blackjack, and roulette, as well as electronic craps and video poker.
Current Promotions: Win a share of $20,000 in June with weekend drawings on Fridays and Saturdays every hour from 4 pm-12 am. Must be a member of the Choctaw Rewards Club to participate. Membership is free.
Rates: Starting at $159 for weekdays and $239 for weekends.
