First and foremost, what does this mean for Hoosier Park? And how much change can customers expect to see if the deal is approved by the Indiana Gaming Commission and Indiana Horse Racing Commission?
Neither Centaur Gaming, owner of Hoosier Park and Indiana Grand in Shelbyville, nor Caesars Entertainment responded to questions Friday about the proposed sale.
But industry analysts and Madison County leaders have a few guesses about what the international gaming giant could bring to Indiana.
Edward Feigenbaum, publisher of Indiana Gaming Insight, expects Caesars Entertainment will do more than just put down new carpet or repaint some walls.
“They tend not to come in and run the same types of properties,” Feigenbaum said. “They invest. You can expect to see significant upgrades, potentially a hotel and changes coming from having a little deeper pockets than perhaps Centaur has.”
Caesars also has a proven industry record in understanding their player base and custom tailoring deals and incentives toward different types of gamblers. Coupled with Centaur’s reward program, Feigenbaum said he only expects that to grow.
“Caesars player base is known in the industry as the best and can tap into the Centaur Reward Program database," he said. "They know Indiana, they know their players and can target specific rewards and incentives to them.”
However, Caesars is likely to avoid making too many changes to the fifth-largest casino in Indiana.
“The important thing is that the commitment that (Caesars) would be making to the Indiana market is really a great show of confidence — they could put that money anywhere and they chose to put it here,” he said.
Matt Rust, executive director of the Anderson/Madison County Visitors Bureau, said he sees the sale as “huge” for the county.
“I think if you look at their other locations across the country and even in Indiana, they are quite a big deal, they don’t spare any cost to roll out the red carpet,” Rust said. ”There’s still a lot to be dealt with and details to be worked out, but I think it could be a great thing for Anderson and for Shelbyville.”
Hoosier Park is a community partner that hosts and supports several community events and organizations across the county, Rust said, and from what he’s read, he expects Caesars to continue that tradition.
“I have had a couple people tell me that Caesars is very involved in the communities where they are at,” he said. “And I hope that would continue because Hoosier Park is a huge contributor for Anderson and Madison County in many ways.”
That’s also a hope for Mayor Thomas Broderick, who said directly after the sale was confirmed Thursday he hopes to work with Caesars and help them to continue supporting the community.
As for developing Hoosier Park specifically, Rust said he would hope to see Caesars build a hotel and conference area around the casino.
“A hotel has always been on the drawing board and that would defiantly be a great thing and I would love to see that,” he said. “We definitely need that type of facility, especially the convention center meeting space.”