Horseshoe Hammond
| Horseshoe Casino Hammond | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Horseshoe Casino | |
| Address | 777 Casino Center Drive Hammond, Indiana 46320 |
| Total gaming space | 350,000 sq ft (33,000 m2)[1] |
| Signature attractions | Hammond Marina Whihala Beach |
| Owner | Caesars Entertainment |
| Coordinates | 41°41′35″N 87°30′28″W / 41.69295°N 87.507718°WCoordinates: 41°41′35″N 87°30′28″W / 41.69295°N 87.507718°W |
| Website | Horseshoe Hammond |
Horseshoe Casino Hammond, located approximately 20 minutes from Chicago, is a 400,000-square-foot (37,000 m2) property containing gaming, entertainment, restaurants, bars, and lounges.
History
Horseshoe Casino was originally opened as Empress Casino in 1996 as a 54,000-square-foot (5,000 m2), four-level gaming vessel. Horseshoe Gaming Holding Corporation was established in 1993 as a private holding company mostly owned by Jack Binion. In 1999, the corporation acquired Empress Casinos, including both the Hammond property and another Argosy Empress Casino in Joliet, Illinois. After selling off the Joliet property in 2001, the Hammond property was re-branded as Horseshoe Casino Hammond on May 4, 2001. In 2004, the corporation was sold to Harrah’s Entertainment (re-branded as Caesars Entertainment in 2010), who oversaw a 2 year construction of a new boat. The current casino facility, a gaming vessel designed by Friedmutter Group beginning in 2006, was opened on August 8, 2008. The vessel boasts two public floors, including a main gaming floor with special high limit, poker, and Asian gaming areas, 2 feature bars, and a VIP lounge, as well as a second floor with more gaming space, a 3,400 capacity entertainment space, and an updated Village Square Buffet. The vessel is adjacent to the main pavilion with multiple food outlets including Jack Binion’s Steakhouse, as well as a gift shop and ballroom/meeting facilities.
Horseshoe has consistently branded itself as the home of the highest limits. Benny Binion, on opening the original Binion’s Horseshoe in Las Vegas, was the first to institute high table limits. The craps table limit of $500 was ten times higher than any other casino in Las Vegas, and eventually Binion raised the limit to $10,000 and even eliminated table limits at times. This philosophy has continued through to the Horseshoe Casino locations throughout the country, where legendary stories including a man who walked into a Horseshoe with a briefcase of cash walked out with $1M.
In 2011, Horseshoe Casino is celebrating their 60th Anniversary through a promotion that speaks back to the history of the original Binion’s Horseshoe in Las Vegas. The original Million Dollar Wall was one of the landmarks of the hotel on the old Vegas strip, and an updated version has been created to travel throughout all the current Horseshoe properties. The casinos will be giving out a minimum of $1M as part of the Million Dollar Summer celebration.
Over the years, Horseshoe Casino Hammond has won multiple awards as best in class gaming throughout the region, and in 2011 was named the only casino on Indiana’s Best Places to Work list. The casino has a staff of over 2,200 employees.
Gambling
Horseshoe Casino has over 350,000 square feet (33,000 m2) of gaming space, and currently has over 3,000 slot machines (including over 250 video poker machines) and 100 gaming tables. The high limit gaming room features 125 machines in denominations up to $1,000 and is centered around an acrylic horseshoe statue, the second largest acrylic statue in the United States behind Tiffany’s at the time of the opening in 2008.
Horseshoe is home to the largest poker room in the Midwest, featuring 34 tables at all limits, and including a private poker area, Benny’s Back Room, named for the founder of the original Horseshoe in downtown Las Vegas, Benny Binion.
Le Cheng Asian gaming space, designed by Taki Huang-Murao of T. Murao Design, inc, is inspired by the romance of the Chinese Silk Road, the well-traveled passage between the Mediterranean Sea and China that dates to the first century BC. With exquisite detail and appropriate feng shui, the Asian Gaming Area welcomes players into their own resplendent niche of the casino. Spacious and elegant, it features an over-sized display of a water cascade on the beautiful etched art glass work within a classic rose wood-stained cabinet. Crafted in China, all the wood in the Asian Gaming and Foo Noodle Bar are made with rich rose wood color. Horseshoe is one of the only casinos in the country to feature Pai Gow Tiles tables.
Horseshoe regularly hosts poker tournaments, including the World Series of Poker Chicago Regional and Chicago Poker Classic. The WSOP regional is the largest regional in the United States.
Attractions
"The Venue" is Horseshoe Casino’s entertainment space which also functions as an area that can host any type of event. The 90,000-square-foot (8,400 m2) space was designed by Canadian designers Sceno Plus, who are best known for designing all of the Cirque du Soleil theaters in the United States as well as the Coliseum at Caesars Palace. Though the standard setup is 2,500 theater-style telescopic seats, the versatility of the room allows those seats to be pulled back for a full general-admission room that can be set up for more contemporary rock shows, as well as function as a banquet and trade show facility. The Venue opened on the same day as the casino on Aug 8, 2008 with a midnight Asian show featuring Andy Hui and William So, and held several more grand opening concerts that same weekend, including Bette Midler, Smashing Pumpkins, Mo'Nique, and James Blunt. More than 200 shows were produced in The Venue in the first three years, and additional activities included The Great Midwest Smokeout, as well as the Chicago Circuit Championship of the World Series of Poker.
Push features 360 degrees of excitement right in the center of the gaming floor. The bar is lined with high-paying video poker machines and clear views of high-definition TVs so one can catch every game and every highlight. At night, the bar features live DJs, Hookah nights, and a varying calendar of entertainment for casino visitors.
Vintage 51, located on the main gaming floor near the poker room, is a lavish wine, craft beer, and cigar lounge. The name is a tribute to the founding date of the original Binion’s Horseshoe in Las Vegas in 1951. The space is a well-appointed space full of dark woods and elegant touches for up to 75 guests. This venue features some of the finest wines and beers from around the world, including the namesake Private Label Vintage 51 Wine, a 2005 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon that is the product of Horseshoe Casino & Terlato Wines International, the foremost producer of luxury wines in the United States, creating a truly luxurious destination.
Restaurants
Jack Binon’s Steak House has been a Chicago favorite with its exquisite service and attention to detail, and recently doubled in size to accommodate the newly expanded gaming vessel. The Chicago Tribune calls Jack Binion's Steak House "an upscale experience rivaling downtown's finest steakhouses." The reason for the enduring popularity of Jack Binion's Steak House is quite simple - magnificent cuts and house specialties served with impeccable presentation. Jack Binion's Steak House received the prestigious Wine Spectator Award of Excellence 13 years running and was voted Best Casino Fine Dining by Midwest Gaming and Travel readers.
Village Square Buffet was a staple of the Horseshoe Casino prior to the expansion project of 2008 as a small scale restaurant in the adjacent pavilion. The new Village Square Buffet, physically on the gaming vessel, is widely regarded as the finest buffet in the area. The new restaurant is double the size of the previous one and features several food stations including Italian, Latin, American Heritage, seafood, Asian, soups and salads, and desserts. The Village Square Buffet occasionally features specialty items by celebrity chefs who are appearing in The Venue such as Paula Deen and Guy Fieri.
To complement the Le Cheng Asian gaming area, the Foo Noodle bar is adjacent and offers broth soup, congee, dim sum, bubble teas, and more.
Benny’s Pub and Eatery, a 54 seat pub located in the adjacent pavilion, is a place where you can enjoy sports on multiple plasma screens while enjoying a unique menu featuring Benny's Inferno Burger, savory catfish sandwiches, juicy chicken parmesan sandwiches, spicy black and bleu ribeye steak sandwiches, and delicious chicken wings. Benny's features a different beer of the month along with specialty food pairings.
Other food outlets at Horseshoe include JB’s Café and Uno Express.
References
External links
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||