'Horseshoe Casino Cincinnati' Breaks Ground for First-Class Urban Entertainment Development

CINCINNATI, Feb. 4, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Officials from the City of Cincinnati, Hamilton County and the State of Ohio, along with local business and civic leaders, today celebrated the ground breaking for Horseshoe Casino Cincinnati.  Rock Gaming LLC CEO, Dan Gilbert, Caesars Entertainment Corporation Chairman, CEO and President, Gary Loveman, and Mayor Mark Mallory presented an exciting vision for the estimated $400 million development to be built on the Broadway Commons site in northeast Cincinnati.

"Since Day 1 Cincinnati has embraced the opportunity for jobs, economic development and increased tourism that a first-class casino brings," said Gilbert.  "With the strong support of this very active, urban-focused community, our team has been working for more than a year to ensure that our project does not prosper alone but also benefits the surrounding neighborhoods and region.  The outward facing design and pedestrian accessibility will rejuvenate this part of town, while putting thousands of people into good-paying jobs."

After successfully leading the November 2009 constitutional referendum approving full-service gaming in the state's four largest cities, Rock Gaming selected the world's largest gaming entertainment company, Caesars Entertainment, as its partner.  The resulting joint venture partner, Rock Ohio Caesars, will develop and operate casinos in the downtowns of both Cincinnati and Cleveland.  Caesars will manage day-to-day operations at both casinos.  

"The new casino is another component in Downtown Cincinnati's growth," Mayor Mark Mallory said.  "It will bring thousands of new employment opportunities and tens of thousands of new visitors to Cincinnati.  The Casino, the Banks nearing completion and the continued new redevelopment of Over-the-Rhine shows the strength of Cincinnati's economy even in tough times."

"Today's announcement is an important first step toward bringing renewed economic development and new jobs to the Cincinnati area," said U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown.  "I applaud the casino developers for working closely with the community on their plans at every step of the process, and I encourage the company to continue utilizing all the resources that southwest Ohio has to offer as they move forward on this important project."

Brand

"It is only appropriate that Horseshoe – one of our legendary and fastest growing brands– makes its mark here in the Queen City," Loveman said.  "Our Horseshoe casinos are the overwhelming preferred choice in gaming in each of the five markets where they operate, and we fully anticipate Horseshoe Cincinnati will enjoy similar success."  The casino is expected to draw six million visits downtown annually.

General Manager

Loveman also introduced the casino's new general manager, Kevin Kline, a Caesars executive who most recently served as assistant general manager at Horseshoe Hammond, located in the Chicagoland area.  Kline will ensure that the casino is developed to maximize connectivity and economic impact downtown, in the region and throughout the state, while upholding Caesars' world-class operating standards.  "My first priority is to meet the area's hotel, restaurant and retail community to discuss potential opportunities to service future casino guests," Kline said.

Jobs

Rock Ohio Caesars expects to invest more than $400 million into the Cincinnati casino development.   Land was acquired last year, and the construction team has already started initial site preparation.  Local design, engineering, and contracting firms have been engaged and construction will begin immediately.  Approximately 2,000 construction workers will work on the site over the course of the next 24 months.  As an anticipated opening date approaches in late 2012, Horseshoe Cincinnati will hire and train approximately 1,700 new employees.  The companies have committed to hire at least 90 percent of casino employees from the Cincinnati metropolitan area, and have already engaged local contracting and design teams to work on the project.

Programming

Horseshoe Cincinnati will serve as a gaming destination for southwest Ohio.  The nearly 100,000 sq. ft. gaming floor will house plenty of attractions for guests.  The casino expects to offer approximately 2,300 slot machines, 72 table games, a high-limits area, an action-packed World Series of Poker® room, and a VIP Player's lounge.  In addition, the casino is expected to include three street-side restaurants, a buffet restaurant, a food court with regional fare, and a main-floor feature bar to round out the food, beverage and entertainment offerings.  On the second level, approximately 33,000 sq. ft. of multipurpose and special function space will provide for business meetings, social events and entertainment offerings.

Horseshoe Casino Cleveland

Rock Ohio Caesars also announced Thursday that it will proceed with a Phase 1 casino – 'Horseshoe Casino Cleveland' – in the Historic Higbee Building downtown, which could open in early 2012.  This $350 million large-scale renovation will convert the former department store into a first class casino, and is expected to create approximately 2,000 construction jobs and up to 1,600 casino jobs in its initial phase. 

About Rock Ohio Caesars LLC

Rock Ohio Caesars was formed in December 2010 by Rock Gaming and Caesars Entertainment to develop and operate casinos in the downtowns of both Cincinnati and Cleveland.  The joint venture, which is majority owned by Rock Gaming, has entered into long-term management agreements with Caesars for management and operation of each of the venture's facilities.  

About Rock Gaming, LLC

Rock Gaming is a Midwest-based gaming partnership formed with an initial focus to develop first-class casinos in the downtowns of two of Ohio's largest cities, Cleveland and Cincinnati, as well as to explore other potential gaming opportunities.  Dan Gilbert, CEO of Rock Gaming, is also chairman and founder of Quicken Loans, Inc., the country's largest online retail mortgage lender, as well as the majority owner of the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers and the American Hockey League's Lake Erie Monsters; both teams play at the Quicken Loans Arena in downtown Cleveland.  Through these and other Ohio-based businesses, Gilbert employs approximately 2,000 people in the state.

About Caesars Entertainment Corporation

Caesars Entertainment Corporation is the world's largest casino entertainment company. Since its beginning in Reno, Nevada, more than 70 years ago, Caesars has grown through development of new resorts, expansions and acquisitions, and now operates casinos on four continents. The company's resorts operate primarily under the Harrah's®, Caesars® and Horseshoe® brand names. Caesars also owns the World Series of Poker® and the London Clubs International family of casinos. Caesars Entertainment is focused on building loyalty and value with its guests through a unique combination of great service, excellent products, unsurpassed distribution, operational excellence and technology leadership. Caesars is committed to environmental sustainability and energy conservation and recognizes the importance of being a responsible steward of the environment.  For more information, please visit www.caesars.com.

Forward Looking Statement

This release includes "forward-looking statements" intended to qualify for the safe harbor from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can identify these statements by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. These statements contain words such as "may," "will," "project," "might," "expect," "believe," "anticipate," "intend," "could," "would," "estimate," "continue" or "pursue," or the negative or other variations thereof or comparable terminology. In particular, they include statements relating to, among other things, future actions, new projects, strategies, future performance, and the outcomes of contingencies. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and projections about future events.

The statements in this release that refer to plans and expectations for future periods are forward-looking statements and are not guarantees of future performance and involve significant risks and uncertainties.  The actual results may differ materially from those contained in or implied by the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, some of which are unknown, including, without limitation:  our ability to agree upon a mutually acceptable plan for development of the projects;  our ability to obtain financing for development of the projects; changes in gaming legislation in Ohio; the adoption of final rules and regulations by the casino control commission; favorable resolution of any legal challenges to gaming legislation and regulations; our ability to obtain necessary licensing to operate casinos in the State of Ohio; completion of all transactions necessary to secure rights to land on which the casinos will be developed; and economic conditions in general and in our specific market areas.  Although we believe that our plans, intentions and expectations reflected in or suggested by these forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that our plans, intentions or expectations will be achieved. All forward-looking statements attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements. We do not undertake any obligation to publicly release any revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect events and circumstances occurring after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

SOURCE Rock Gaming, LLC