Horseshoe Casino owners happy with initial response

CINCINNATI - After 15 days in operation, owners of Horseshoe Casino Cincinnati told city officials Tuesday they’re happy with the turnout so far.

“We’re off to a great start,” said Kevin Kline, the casino’s general manager.

More than 10,000 people attended opening night festivities on March 4, he added. Also, all of the tickets to the inaugural concert at the casino’s outdoor plaza were sold out in 38 minutes.

The Killers, a critically acclaimed indie rock band, will perform at the one-acre plaza – known as The Shoe – on May 16. Tickets went on sale March 15 for $60 each.

The casino will announce the rest of the performers who will appear in its summer concert series soon, Kline said. During the performances, an eight-foot temporary fence will partition the plaza from the surrounding streets.

Kline briefed Cincinnati City Council’s strategic growth committee Tuesday on Horseshoe’s first two weeks.

The $400 million casino is a joint venture of Rock Gaming and Caesars Entertainment Corp.  Cincinnati’s venue is the fourth and final casino to open in Ohio after voters approved the facilities in November 2009.

Although Kline didn’t release specific figures about how many people have visited the casino to date, he said it’s on track to have between 5 million and 6 million visitors annually.

“We’re very encouraged by the first 14 days,” he said.

The casino project involved more than $150 million in construction contracts, and 2,000 construction jobs.

Of the amount, 37 percent of the contracts were awarded to women-owned and minority-owned businesses, Kline told City Council. Promoting the use of those types of businesses, along with hiring city residents for jobs, has been one of the committee’s goals.

Horseshoe employs 1,785 people, and 92 percent of them are from the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky metropolitan area, casino officials said.

About 500 additional workers are employed at Bobby’s Burger Palace and Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville, two independently operated restaurants in the casino.

The name of a third eatery that will open will be announced in the next 30 days, Kline said.

Besides operating a rewards program with local hotels and restaurants, the casino also is bringing in customers from its facilities in other cities to try out the Cincinnati locale.

During the past weekend, Caesars invited 300 frequent players to town from Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Indianapolis and Nashville.

Horseshoe also operates the casino in Cleveland, which opened in May 2012. Since then, the site has had 4.3 million guests, sold $1.4 million in meals and booked 50,650 hotel rooms.

Casino operators expect similar results in Cincinnati, Kline said.

Rock Gaming estimates the Cincinnati location will generate $100 million in tax revenue during its first 12 months in operation, with about $21 million going to the city.

City administrators, however, are estimating a more modest $12 million to $14 million for the city’s coffers.