Caesars to rebrand Horseshoe Southern Indiana and add a sportsbook as part of ongoing expansion; sells South African business to focus on core markets
Caesars Entertainment Corp. has announced that it would rebrand its Horseshoe Southern Indiana property as part of an ongoing $85 million expansion. The operator will also add a sportsbook to the casino’s existing offering, it has also become known.
Caesars broke ground on the property’s $85 million expansion last June. The whole project is expected to be completed in 2020. Caesars expects to debut the casino portion of the Southern Indiana complex in late 2019.
Horseshoe Southern Indiana will become Caesars Southern Indiana as part of its revamp. The project involves the relocation of the existing riverboat casino onto dry land. Caesars is building a 100,000-square-foot gaming facility near the existing Horseshoe Southern Indiana hotel. The new brick-and-mortar casino will feature additional slot machines, table games, and poker as well as a bar and lounge.
The Horseshoe Southern Indiana will remain operational under the same name while the expansion is being carried out. As mentioned earlier, the casino portion of the complex is expected to open doors by the end of the year. Five new restaurants and other facilities are on track to be launched in 2020.
Sports Betting Arrives to Horseshoe Southern Indiana
Indiana became the tenth state to legalize sports betting after Gov. Eric Holcomb signed into law a bill authorizing the practice. Under the new law, the state Gaming Commission will start accepting applications for conducting sports betting on July 1, 2019.
Caesars, which recently announced a sports betting content and data distribution deal with ESPN, revealed plans to tap into Indiana’s nascent sports betting market. The company said in a recent statement that Horseshoe Southern Indiana’s expansion will also include the addition of a sportsbook at the property.
Caesars Sells South African Business
In a separate round of news, Caesars announced Wednesday that it has sold its 70% stake in Emerald Resort & Casino in Vanderbijlpark, South Africa. Johannesburg-based gaming and hospitality company Peermont Hotels, Casinos and Resorts has agreed to buy the property for the total amount of $49 million.
Caesars will receive $39 million in cash for its 70% ownership of the hotel and casino resort. The remaining 30% stake is owned by local minority partners. The Las Vegas casino giant said in a press release from Wednesday that it will continue operating the property until the transaction is finalized, which is expected to happen in the third quarter of the year.
Commenting on the sale, Caesars’ newly appointed CEO Tony Rodio said that Emerald Resort & Casino, while a unique property, received limited benefit from the company’s rewards program due to its remoteness to other Caesars properties. The executive also pointed out that they are “pleased to monetize this non-core asset” in a bid to focus their attention on other strategic markets.
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