Horseshoe Casino Hammond, located in
Hammond, Indiana
Hammond ( ) is a city in Lake County, Indiana. It is part of the Chicago metropolitan area, and the only city in Indiana to border Chicago. First settled in the mid-19th century, it is one of the oldest cities of northern Lake County. As of the ...
, is a property containing gaming, entertainment, restaurants, bars, and lounges.
History
Horseshoe Casino originally opened as Empress Casino in 1996 as a , four-level gaming vessel.
Horseshoe Gaming Holding Corporation
Horseshoe Gaming Holding Corporation was established in 1993 with its only asset being the rights to use the Horseshoe name on casinos. The corporation was a private holding company mostly owned by Jack Binion.
History
In 1994, the company acqu ...
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
Empress Casino in
Joliet, Illinois. After selling off the Joliet property in 2001, the Hammond property was rebranded as Horseshoe Casino Hammond on May 4, 2001. In 2004, the corporation was sold to
Harrah’s Entertainment (rebranded as Caesars Entertainment in 2010), which began the construction of a new gaming vessel, designed by Friedmutter Group, in 2006. The current
casino facility opened on August 8, 2008.
In October 2017, ownership of the property was transferred to
Vici Properties as part of a
corporate spin-off, and it was
leased back to Caesars Entertainment.
Facilities
The vessel has two public floors, including the main gaming floor with a special high limit,
poker
Poker is a family of comparing card games in which players wager over which hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, however in some places the rules may vary. While the earliest known form of the game w ...
, and Asian gaming areas, two feature bars, and a VIP lounge, as well as a second floor with 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.
"The Venue" is Horseshoe Casino’s entertainment and event space. The space was designed by Canadian designers Sceno Plus, who are best known for designing the
Cirque du Soleil theaters in the United States as well as the Coliseum at
Caesars Palace
Caesars Palace is a luxury hotel and casino in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The hotel is situated on the west side of the Las Vegas Strip between Bellagio and The Mirage. It is one of Las Vegas's largest and best known landmarks.
Caesars P ...
. Though the standard setup is 2,500 theater-style telescopic seats, the seats can be pulled back to create a full general-admission room that can be set up for more contemporary rock shows, as well as function as a banquet and tradeshow facility. The Venue opened with the casino on August 8, 2008, with a midnight Asian show featuring
Andy Hui and
William So
William So Wing Hong (; born 24 September 1967) is a Hong Kong actor and a Cantopop singer. He began his musical career by participating the New Talent Singing Awards in 1985 and won the competition as the first runner up to Alex To. His perfor ...
, and held several more grand opening concerts that same weekend, including
Bette Midler
Bette Midler (;''Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress, comedian and author. Throughout her career, which spans over five decades, Midler has received List of awards and nominations received by Be ...
,
Alicia Keys,
Smashing Pumpkins
Smash may refer to:
People
* Smash (wrestler) (born 1959), professional wrestler
* Moondog Rex, another professional wrestler who briefly wrestled as the original Smash, before being replaced by the above.
* DJ Smash, DJ and music producer
Art, ...
,
Mo'Nique, and
James Blunt. More than 200 acts performed in The Venue in its first three years and additional events have included The Great Midwest Smokeout and the Chicago Circuit Championship of the World Series of Poker.
The casino employs over 2,200 people.
Gambling
Horseshoe Casino has over of gaming space and currently has over 3,000
slot machines (including over 250
video poker
Video poker is a casino game based on five-card draw poker. It is played on a computerized console similar in size to a slot machine.
History
Video poker first became commercially viable when it became economical to combine a television-like moni ...
machines) and 100
gaming tables
Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three eleme ...
. 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 its opening in 2008.
Horseshoe is home to the largest
poker room
A cardroom or card room is a gaming establishment that exclusively offers card games for play by the public. The term poker room is used to describe a dedicated room in casinos that is dedicated to playing poker and in function is similar to a car ...
in the Midwest, featuring 34 tables at all limits and a private poker area, Benny’s Back Room — named for the founder of the original Horseshoe in downtown Las Vegas, Benny Binion.
Horseshoe has consistently branded itself as the home of the highest limits.
Benny Binion
Lester Ben Binion (November 20, 1904 – December 5, 1989), better known as Benny Binion, was an American gambling icon, career criminal, and convicted murderer who established illegal gambling operations in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, area. H ...
, upon opening the original Binion’s Horseshoe in
Las Vegas, was the first to institute high
table limits. The
craps table limit of $500 was 10 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.
Horseshoe regularly hosts poker tournaments, including the
World Series of Poker (WSOP) Chicago Circuit Event and Chicago Poker Classic. The WSOP Circuit Event is the largest in the United States.
See also
*
List of Caesars Entertainment properties
*
List of casinos in Indiana
Indiana law authorizes ten land-based or riverboat casinos on Lake Michigan and the Ohio River, one land-based casino in French Lick, and racinos at the state's two horse tracks. In addition, there is one Indian casino in the state. Other forms ...
References
External links
Official Site
{{Caesars Entertainment
1996 ships
Caesars Entertainment
Casinos in Indiana
Buildings and structures in Lake County, Indiana
Riverboat casinos
Tourist attractions in Lake County, Indiana
1996 establishments in Indiana