'Vegas experience:' Hoosier Park shows off expanded gaming space, new amenities at casino
Jan. 10—ANDERSON — One way executives at Harrah's Hoosier Park Racing and Casino have described their vision for the facility's $40 million expansion project is that of bringing a "Vegas experience" to Madison County, according to Colin Skidmore.
Tuesday morning, flanked by two women dressed in full Las Vegas showgirl attire, the racino's senior vice president and general manager presided over a ceremony officially unveiling the new amenities and bringing a touch of Sin City to the facility.
"We want to be the first thought for entertainment in Anderson, Indiana," Skidmore said.
The ceremony, held just off the casino floor in an open dining area near one of the facility's two new restaurants, culminated a project for which planning began in 2019. That year, the Indiana Legislature paved the way for the state's casinos to host table games with live dealers. The following year, Hoosier Park opened 28 tables with live dealers, and officials soon realized that space would be quickly outgrown.
"Then when we went through COVID, we realized that people really want space," said Dan Nita, regional president for Caesars Entertainment, Hoosier Park's parent company. "This property really was constrained in terms of the ability to have a great gaming experience."
The pandemic, along with subsequent supply chain and logistical issues with materials and construction, hampered progress and stretched the company's timeline for the project from its original target of mid-July 2023 to closer to Christmas.
Nita said the new space — including an upgraded center bar with video poker machines and an expanded high-limit room with additional table games and slots — had a soft opening the week before New Year's Day.
"We've always had an eye on this (property) having really great opportunities for growth and development," Nita said. "It's a great team, it's in a great community, and we have great guests, so this was the next step in the evolution."
For Skidmore's predecessor Trent McIntosh, who oversaw the project's early stages before leaving to become senior vice president and general manager at Horseshoe Indianapolis in Shelbyville, returning to see new space officially open was gratifying because, he said, so much effort has been invested in making it a reality.
"I don't know that I've ever seen a property change as much as this one did over the last year," McIntosh said. "The finished product is fabulous."
Skidmore acknowledged that, although stubbornly high inflation has put a drag on the gaming industry — mainly in the form of higher costs for labor, equipment and materials — the early returns on Hoosier Park's new amenities have been promising.
"We've already started to see, with the expansion kind of finalizing this last month or so, we've started to see improvements to our bottom line," he said. "We've had challenges not only with the economy, but also construction disruptions. It was a tough 2023, but I am saying right now, the numbers that we're seeing are indicative of a strong '24, and we're confident this is going to pay dividends for sure."
Follow Andy Knight on Twitter @Andrew_J_Knight, or call 765-640-4809.
