Jack Entertainment (formerly known as Rock Gaming LLC from 2009 to 2016) is a gaming,

hospitality Hospitality is the relationship between a guest and a host, wherein the host receives the guest with some amount of goodwill, including the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers. Louis, chevalier de Jaucourt describes ...

, and

entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousa ...

company based in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U ...

. The company operates two gaming facilities in Ohio, Jack Cleveland Casino and Jack Thistledown Racino.

History

Rock Gaming (2009–2016)

Jack Entertainment was founded as Rock Gaming in 2009 by seven businessmen led by Dan Gilbert, as chairman of its board and Matt Cullen as Chief Executive Officer. The company was formed as the seven men backed the Ohio Casino Approval and Tax Distribution Amendment, which was ultimately approved by voters in November 2009. In May 2012, Rock Gaming, in a joint venture with

Caesars Entertainment Caesars Entertainment, Inc., formerly Eldorado Resorts, Inc., is an American hotel and casino entertainment company founded and based in Reno, Nevada that operates more than 50 properties. Eldorado Resorts acquired Caesars Entertainment Corporat ...

, opened Horseshoe Casino Cleveland as well as gained a stake in a Kentucky racetrack,

Turfway Park Turfway Park is an American horse racing track located within the city limits of Florence, Kentucky, about south of the Ohio River at Cincinnati. The track conducts live Thoroughbred horse racing during two meets each year—Holiday (December), ...

. The company quickly expanded in 2013, opening ThistleDown Racino in the nearby Cleveland suburb of North Randall and

Horseshoe Casino Cincinnati Hard Rock Casino Cincinnati (formerly Jack Cincinnati Casino and Horseshoe Cincinnati) is a casino in Cincinnati, Ohio, owned by Vici Properties and operated by Hard Rock International. It opened in 2013. Casino The two-story casino is and has ...

. In that same year, the company acquired the Greektown Casino-Hotel in Detroit. In April 2015, the company took on an operational focus and was approved by Ohio Casino Control Commission to be licensed as a management company. That same year, Rock Gaming bought out Caesars's minority equity interests and management contract, and assumed full operational control and full ownership of its Ohio gaming properties.

Jack Entertainment (2016–present)

On February 23, 2016, the company announced it was changing its name from Rock Gaming to Jack Entertainment. Throughout 2016, the company would also rebrand its casinos under the Jack name. The company stated it planned to spend $40 million on the rebranding. It also introduced a new customer loyalty program, ClubJack. In September 2018, it was reported that Gilbert was looking to sell Jack Entertainment and exit the casino business. Two months later, Jack entered into an agreement to sell the Greektown casino to

Vici Properties Vici Properties Inc. is a real estate investment trust (REIT) specializing in casino properties, based in New York City. It was formed in 2017 as a spin-off from Caesars Entertainment Corporation as part of its bankruptcy reorganization. It ow ...

and

Penn National Gaming Penn Entertainment, Inc., formerly Penn National Gaming, is an American entertainment company and operator of integrated entertainment, sports content, and casino gaming. It operates 43 properties in 20 states, online sports betting in 14 jurisd ...

for a total of $1 billion. In September 2019, Jack Entertainment sold its Cincinnati casino for $745 million to Vici and

Hard Rock International Hard Rock Cafe, Inc. is a British-based multinational chain of theme restaurants, memorabilia shops, casinos and museums founded in 1971 by Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton in London. In 1979, the cafe began covering its walls with rock and ...

. The next month, Jack sold Turfway Park to Churchill Downs, Inc. for $36 million. In January 2020, the company also sold the real estate assets associated with its Cleveland casino and the Thistledown racino to Vici in a sale leaseback transaction. Later in 2020, Gilbert sold his controlling stake in Jack Entertainment to a group of the company's managers, led by chairman Matthew Cullen and CEO Mark Dunkeson. In June 2021, Jack moved its headquarters to

Terminal Tower Terminal Tower is a 52-story, , landmark skyscraper located on Public Square in Downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Built during the skyscraper boom of the 1920s and 1930s, it was the second-tallest building in the world when it was comple ...

in Cleveland.

Properties

Former properties

References

External links

* {{official website
Rock Ventures – Gaming
Gambling companies of the United States Hospitality companies of the United States Companies based in Cleveland Entertainment companies established in 2009 2009 establishments in Michigan Rock Ventures