Caesars to Rebrand Southern Indiana Casino Under Flagship Name as Part of $85M Project

Posted on: May 15, 2019, 07:23h. 

Last updated on: May 15, 2019, 07:29h.

Steve Bittenbender Read More
Expertise: Legislation, Sports Betting, Horse Racing.

Officials with Caesars Entertainment announced on Wednesday that its Southern Indiana property will get a name change once work finishes on moving the casino from the Ohio River to a new $85 million venue.

Caesar himself was on hand in Elizabeth, Ind., Wednesday as officials from Horseshoe Southern Indiana announced the $85 million land-based casino, currently under construction to replace the riverboat casino, will take on the Caesars name. (Image: Horseshoe Southern Indiana)

When the new 100,000-square-foot casino opens in Elizabeth, located just west of Louisville, Ky., it will do so as Caesars Southern Indiana. It is currently branded as Horseshoe Southern Indiana.

Work started on the project last June.

Renee Nadeau, Horseshoe Southern Indiana’s vice president of marketing, told Casino.org the goal is for the new one-floor casino to open in December. However, the official grand opening for the venue won’t take place until some time in 2020 as workers complete other parts of the venue, including five restaurants, retail outlets, and an entertainment and convention facility.

The goal is to provide an immersive, luxurious entertainment experience, she said.

In addition to the casino, Horseshoe Southern Indiana also features a 503-room hotel on site, which will also be rebranded, and a nearby golf course, which has maintained its Chariot Run name since its opening in 2002.

Revenue Down as Competition Increases

The new casino and rebrand come at a time when Caesars faces increased competition in the Louisville market. After being the only venue of its type in the metropolitan area for nearly 20 years, the casino got competition when Churchill Downs opened Derby City Gaming in Louisville last September. Derby City offers instant racing terminals, which play similarly to slot machines.

In seven of the eight months since Derby City opened, Horseshoe Southern Indiana’s monthly adjusted gross revenue has dropped, when compared to the previous year, by at least $1.4 million. April figures from the Indiana Gaming Commission indicated Horseshoe’s generated $16.7 million in revenue for April 2019. That represented a $4 million drop from the previous year.

However, Nadeau told Casino.org that the rebrand did not happen because of increased competition.

By making this large investment, it gave us the opportunity to enhance the guest experience and change the name to the iconic Caesars’ brand,” she said at a public announcement earlier in the day.

The rebrand actually is a nod to the casino’s origins. It opened in 1998 as Caesars Indiana, operating until the flagship brand for nearly 10 years. However, Harrah’s Entertainment officials, who had purchased both Caesars and Horseshoe Gaming, rebranded the casino under the Horseshoe name.

Sportsbook Coming

The announcement comes a week after Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb signed an expanded gaming bill that legalized sports betting in the state.

During Wednesday’s announcement, Caesars officials confirmed the new venue would include a sportsbook. However, Nadeau told Casino.org that bettors may not have to wait until December to bet on games.

Last week, state Sen. Jon Ford (R-Terre Haute) said officials were hoping to start taking bets in September to take advantage of the start of football season. On Wednesday, Nadeau said there was still a lot of work to do, but the goal would be to get a sportsbook up and running as soon as possible.

“It would be something we’d be looking at to put in the existing property,” she said.