Sports betting passing the Missouri House last week may hog the spotlight, but a St. Louis casino has noteworthy news, as well.
As announced in February and starting sometime this spring, Lumière Place Casino and Hotel will take on the name Horseshoe, Caesars Entertainment’s casino brand name. A refreshed look is expected to debut by then, as well.
General Manager Brian Marsh said, “We’re thrilled to usher in a new era and bring the historic Horseshoe to St. Louis.” He also called Horseshoe a “legendary brand, known for poker and gaming.”
Signage of the time
Currently, Lumière Place offers about 75,000 square feet of gaming space and has a dedicated World Series of Poker room with 10 tables. According to Caesars’ press release, “[poker] tournaments are expected to return soon” to its Missouri property.
The gaming floor now hosts 1,250 slot machines and 65 table games. Dining options are available and visitors can stay at the property’s Four Seasons Hotel Saint Louis.
“Horseshoe Saint Louis will bring a new look and introduce some exciting new gaming offerings for our guests,” Marsh said. And among other improvements and additions, visitors to the new Horseshoe Casino St. Louis will notice:
- New signage
- New carpet
- Updated lights
- Revamped casino floor
- New slot options
- Exterior updates
- New Starbucks
- Golden horseshoe logo
Caesars hasn’t released any cost projections for the upgrades.
Not-so-ancient history of Lumière Place
Tropicana Entertainment’s Lumière opened its doors in 2007. A decade later, Eldorado Resorts, Inc. acquired the St. Louis riverfront property and also purchased Caesars Entertainment, keeping the Caesars name.
Now, Caesars is the biggest casino and entertainment company in the country. Its Missouri operations include Harrah’s North in Kansas City and the Isle of Capri in Boonville.
Currently, Caesars also operates Horseshoe casinos in:
- Indiana
- Maryland
- Mississippi
- Iowa
- Louisiana
And its Bally’s on the famed Las Vegas Strip will rebrand as Horseshoe Casino in time to be this year’s host of the World Series of Poker, which begins at the end of May.
Speaking of which, the very first World Series of Poker took place in 1970 at Binion’s Horseshoe in Vegas. Caesars’ predecessor, Harrah’s, bought Binion’s Horseshoe in 2004 and kept the rights to the Horseshoe brand and the World Series of Poker.
“Horseshoe is where it all began,” said Ty Stewart, Executive Director of the World Series of Poker, just this past January. He added that the Horseshoe brand has always been about card players. Horseshoe casinos offer no-limit betting, as well.
As far as earnings, according to a Missouri casino revenue report, the December adjusted gross revenue for Lumière Place totaled $12.5 million. That put the property in the middle of earnings for all state casinos, and in last place in St. Louis’s market of four commercial casinos.
Sports betting halfway there …
Missouri currently has 13 casinos, and just this week — finally — sports betting passed the House. Now, as Tony and Maria sing in West Side Story, “we’re halfway there.”
What seemingly did the trick was separating the legalization of video lottery terminals from that of sports betting. The two had previously been tied together in proposals. As Rep. Dan Shaul, a former proponent of keeping the two together, decided, “… don’t keep beating our head against the same wall the same way. Let’s at least take a different approach.”
Some of the provisions in the bill that just passed include:
- 3 online sportsbook skins for each casino, with a maximum of 6 per casino company
- A prohibition of advertising by casinos within 400 yards of a sports stadium without team approval
And right now, it seems perfectly logical speculation that Lumière-turned-Horseshoe will likely offer Caesars Sportsbook as a MO sports betting option if the bill passes the Senate and goes on to be signed into law.