New Horseshoe Casino Cincinnati readies for invitation-only dress rehearsal

CINCINNATI - Kristina Brate stood behind a blackjack table in Horseshoe Casino Cincinnati’s high-stakes table games room Tuesday morning, dealing and re-dealing a deck of shiny new cards to imaginary players.

“I’m going to keep practicing until the minute we open,” said Brate, a former school bus driver from Erlanger, Ky., who will be working the 4 a.m. to noon shift once the casino opens. “I can’t wait.”

Brate was among the scores of casino employees already working at the property Tuesday – honing new skills as dealers, vacuuming carpet, dusting every flat surface and unloading liquor.

They’re preparing for the $400 million casino’s dress rehearsal – the invitation-only controlled demonstration to be held Wednesday for the Ohio Casino Control Commission.

Commission staff will monitor every aspect of the casino’s operations during the demonstration, from security to accounting to monitoring each of the casino’s 87 table games and 2,000 slot machines, said Executive Director Matt Schuler.

“It’s certainly an impressive facility,” Schuler told reporters Tuesday. “But our mission is to ensure the integrity of casino gaming.”

After the commission’s staff evaluates the casino Wednesday, it will work with the casino to resolve any problems that must be corrected, Schuler said. Then, probably by later this week or this weekend, the commission will give the casino the OK to proceed with its grand opening scheduled for March 4.

Once the casino’s doors open that day, they won’t close, noted Jennifer Kulczycki. The facility will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, every day of the year.

A Starbucks inside the casino also will be open around the clock. The other dining options have more limited hours. Those include Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville, Jack Binion’s Steak, the Spread Buffet and Bobby’s Burger Palace, the first Ohio location for celebrity chef Bobby Flay’s burger restaurant. Kulczycki hinted that Flay himself might be on hand for the casino’s grand opening.

The casino’s 100,000 square foot gaming floor is packed with slot machines. And each machine allows gamblers to order drinks from their seats without ever having to leave, Kulczycki said.

The casino expects 10,000 to 15,000 people during Wednesday’s controlled demonstration, with many of those visiting between 5 p.m. and 11 p.m., said Kevin Kline, senior vice president and general manager of Horseshoe Casino Cincinnati.

“We’ve brought a destination experience to downtown Cincinnati,” Kline said. “Our employees are excited.”