Warner Gaming was given a preliminary approval by the California state gaming regulators to acquire the Horizon casino in Lake Tahoe. The plans are for the casino to be reconstructed and re-branded into a Hard Rock facility.
The costs for reconstruction and renovation are estimated to be $60 million. The new casino will be opened in January 2015, if everything goes according to plan. The renovation will include all of the 540 rooms of the hotel, as well as the 25,000-square-foot casino area. New dining lounges, bars and clubs will be added. Last but not least, there will be a retail store for products of the Hard Rock franchise. “Everyone loves the Hard Rock T-shirts” stated a spokesperson of Warner Gaming at the meeting with Gaming Control Board.
Some of the other Hard Rock branded facilities that are managed by Warner Gaming are the Hard Rock Hotel Las Vegas and a Sioux City hotel casino.
The Horizon casino in Lake Tahoe was first established by Del Webb as the Sahara Lake Tahoe. The facility was formerly owned by the Park family and was then acquired by Columbia Sussex Corporation, and was known in the state by the name Horizon. Unfortunately, it did not reach success, as the management was said to have operated chaotically and with no clear vision on the future of the property.
The Control Board Chairman was impressed by the detailed plans and clear ideas of Warner Gaming on how to renovate the Horizon. He added – “I would call this an extreme makeover.”
The management company further added that it is to focus on the younger customer groups, and will build a strong business relationship with the nearby Lake Tahoe ski agencies, bringing another entertainment option available to customers. There will also be a focus on theatres, invitation of singers and show casters, as well as improved quality of the dining areas. Warner Gaming openly stated that they would like to take out the name ‘Horizon’ and its image from the customers minds and start anew.
Warner Gaming has operated the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas for three years now and its next goals after renovating and opening the Hard Rock casino and hotel in Lake Tahoe. It will continue expanding by managing Indian casinos in the areas of Spokane Wash and Stockton-Lodi.
Another lucrative approval that the Control Board has proposed is to give 11% share of Caesars Interactive Entertainment to Dan Gilbert’s Rock Gaming. In this way, the company will receive the last part of a budget it was given to combine a few hotel casinos into one holding.
Caesars Interactive Entertainment is known for managing the WSOP and a number of online gambling platforms of Caesars Entertainment Corp. Rock Gaming is suitable to operate casinos in both Nevada and New Jersey States and the Nevada Gaming Commission is to announce its opinion concerning the Gaming Control Board’s advice on October 23.
