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Hammond’s, a Preview for Cincinnati Horseshoe Casino

Posted on February 21st, 2011

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In the state of Indiana, miles removed from the glitz and glamor of Las Vegas and Atlantic City, the gambling business is alive and well. Twenty-five miles from downtown Chicago, the Horseshoe Casino Hammond is a bustling, thriving, breathing, living mecca for gambling enthusiasts and investors of the soon-to-open Horseshoe Brand in Broadway Commons, Cincinnati have plenty of reasons to celebrate. Even on a normally pedestrian Wednesday night, the Horseshoe Hammond is packed with patrons who endlessly roll dice, play cards, and work the slot machines. Last year alone, the Hammond raked in $558.5 million in revenues. It continues to lay claim to the title of the region’s richest and most popular casino, and its twin-brother’s construction – the Horseshoe Cincinnati, now underway – will only serve to cement the Horseshoe Brand’s claim as the place to be in the Ohio-Indiana-Illinois area.

Part of the allure that is inherent to the Horseshoe brand is in its position as a place for serious gamblers. Higher betting limits and better odds attract high-rollers of all shapes and sizes. Nowhere else in Indiana can gamblers wager $1000 on a single pull of a slot machine or bet $100,000 on a game of baccarat. This is a place for the big boys and the player-friendly policies only serve to make it more enticing for everyone with dollars to spare. The plan for Horseshoe Casino Cincinnati, mirrored after the Hammond’s success, is to provide a place where all gamblers can sit down and play their game. The Horseshoe Cincinnati promises plenty of penny slots but it will also cash in on big bettors that are hungry for high stakes-high reward gambling that is nowhere else available in Southeast Indiana.

To further enhance the gambling experience, the Cincinnati casino will offer more than what typical casinos are willing to give: an almost semi-private, plush and elegant but equally serious place to test your luck as opposed to the noisy, unending hustle-and-bustle which is a staple in most casinos. “It’s a place that feels more like a club,” says Gary Loveman, chief executive of Caesars Entertainment. “We wanted to be positioned as best in market.” The Cincinnati casino will surely draw from the Hammond’s experience in crafting that “luxurious club” feeling. “The energy you feel walking in with eight or 10 craps games going on creates a real sense of arrival,” remarks Kevin Kline who was recently appointed as the new general manager of the Horseshoe Cincinnati. Game tables will be positioned, much like the Hammond’s, at the center of the gambling floor creating a vibe that will elicit responses among patrons akin to playing in the World Series of Poker championship table.

This unique identity that strongly appeals to customers is the latest evolution in the Horseshoe’s image as a premier destination for gamblers. As it happens, the Horseshoe is still not the most luxurious brand from Caesar’s Entertainment. That honor is reserved for only four Caesars casinos all over the world. But the Horseshoe comes close. “It’s beautiful – it’s my favorite casino,” says Karen Jablonski, a 51-year old surgical coordinator from a Chicago hospital who makes it a point to visit the Hammond every other month. “It reminds me of Vegas. It’s the closest thing we’ve got to that, and I go every year.” Founded in 1951 by legendary gambler and World Series of Poker creator Benny Binion, the Horseshoe brand delivers on its promise of emphasizing table games rather than slot machines. It makes the patrons feel that they are important, that they are the center of attention in an otherwise busy shop floor.

The Horseshoe Hammond and Cincinnati casino will need all of these selling points to continue attracting customers. The growth of the gambling industry in the Ohio-Indiana-Illinois region is phenomenal and the competition between rival brands will only make it tougher for casinos to enjoy their share of loyal patrons. In 2009, Ohio voters approved the construction of two new Hollywood brand casinos in Toledo and Columbus. The Cincinnati casino will have to be stronger and more inviting if it is to compete with these new establishments and stand side-by-side with Hammond’s Horseshoe casino.