Caesars Invests $32 Million To Expand Gaming Options At Indiana Grand Casino

Over $32 million is being spent by Caesars Entertainment to expand gaming at the Indiana Grand Casino.

The construction of the Shelbyville property is set to begin this April, with the hope of completion before the year concludes.

World Series of Poker Indiana Grand

The expansion of Indiana Grand will increase the casino’s size by 25,000 square feet.

The additional space will accommodate 100 new slot machines and 25 new table game spots.

The expansion will primarily focus on enabling players to qualify for World Series of Poker tournaments.

To make that happen, the construction will establish a new live poker room with 20 tables.

Once everything is finalized, Indiana Grand’s new space will generate 100 new jobs at the casino. This is excellent news for the industry’s employees who have experienced numerous challenges in the past year due to COVID-19.

Caesars’ investment indicates the company’s dedication to maximizing the potential of its properties in Indiana.

Caesars investing in Indiana

The expansion of Indiana Grand will assist Caesars in maintaining their portion of the gambling market in Indiana.

The merger of the company with Eldorado last year established a powerful entity in the casino industry.

Nonetheless, the Indiana Gaming Commission was of the opinion that permitting Caesars to retain ownership of five casinos in Indiana would result in them having excessive influence over the state’s industry.

The commission compelled Caesars to divest three of those casinos to help balance competition.

Tropicana Evansville and Caesars Southern Indiana have already been sold by the company. Additionally, Horseshoe Hammond is expected to change ownership before 2021 ends.

Once Hammond is sold, Caesars will only possess Harrah's Hoosier Park and Indiana Grand. With just two properties in the state, the company aims to optimize revenue at both sites.

Projects such as the table game expansion at Indiana Grand will contribute to this occurrence. This might also indicate a potential similar expansion at the Harrah's property in the near future.

For the regular patrons of Indiana Grand, the recent expansion represents yet another step in the ongoing push for more table games.

A year of table games at Indiana Grand

Playing live table games like blackjack and poker at Indiana Grand took years to become possible.

For a long time, the casino only featured slot machines and electronic versions of table games.

This was due to an old law prohibiting “racinos”, or casinos with horse racing tracks, from incorporating live versions of games.

Given that Indiana Grand and Harrah’s Hoosier Park are the only racinos in the state, they were at a disadvantage compared to the other gambling locations in the state.

The outdated ban was finally revoked in the summer of 2019, when lawmakers passed a new provision.

Immediately, both casinos initiated the construction of new table games. The four-month expansion of Indiana Grand commenced in September 2019.

On Jan. 1, 2020, the casino was finally prepared for the public to test the new offerings. From that point forward, gamblers at Indiana Grand have enjoyed access to the same live table game options as those available throughout the state.

The new investment of $32 million from Caesars will further advance that.

Despite having table games for more than a year, Indiana Grand still noticeably lags behind many other state casinos in terms of gaming positions.

This new expansion will eliminate the deficit and make the property competitive with its rivals.