- Caesars Entertainment is preparing to rebrand the Isle Casino Hotel in Black Hawk, Colorado.
- The property will be rebranded as the Horseshoe Black Hawk.
- Caesars is also in the process of rebranding the Isle of Capri Lake Charles (Louisiana) as the Horseshoe Casino Lake Charles.
Caesars Entertainment has been rebranding some of their properties under the ‘Horseshoe’ marquee for awhile now. The most significant of these transformations will occur at the property currently known as Bally’s Las Vegas–the new name will be Horseshoe Las Vegas. The press release was a bit vague as to when the rebranding of the property at the corner of Flamingo Road and Las Vegas Boulevard will be completed. What is known as that the 53rd World Series of Poker will be played at Bally’s/Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino. The WSOP website is referring to it as the ‘Bally’s, the future Horseshoe’. Construction should be getting underway just as the WSOP is beginning and ‘should be complete by the end of 2022’.
Other Horseshoe properties are in Iowa (Horseshoe Council Bluffs), Maryland (Horseshoe Baltimore), Louisiana (Horseshoe Bossier City), Mississippi (Horseshoe Tunica) and Indiana (Horseshoe Indianapolis and Horseshoe Hammond). Two other properties are in the transformation process–the Lumière Place Casino & Hotel will become the Horseshoe Saint Louis and the Isle of Capri Lake Charles (Louisiana) will become the Horseshoe Casino Lake Charles. It’s obvious that the company is looking to streamline their naming conventions though there’s still plenty of properties around the US under the Harrah’s brand and several others.
The last time I was in Colorado I wondered aloud to my wife when the rebranding process would arrive at the Caesars Entertainment properties in Black Hawk. Based on what Caesars was doing elsewhere, it was evident that they’d come for the Isle Casino Hotel Black Hawk before the Lady Luck Black Hawk. The Isle of Capri brand was acquired in 2017 by Eldorado Resorts and it sure looks as if they can’t kill it off soon enough. That notwithstanding, the Lady Luck brand was also acquired when Eldorado bought out Isle of Capri Casinos, Inc. The only other remaining Lady Luck branded property is the Lady Luck Casino Nemacolin (Pennsylvania) which–oddly enough–is owned by Churchill Downs, Inc.
Turns out my instincts were correct–Caesars Entertainment has announced that the Isle Casino Hotel Blackhawk will be rebranded as the Horseshoe Black Hawk. In addition to the new name, the property will get a renovated exterior to reflect the Horseshoe name along with some interior remodeling. Here’s the 4-1-1 from the press release announcing the Horseshoe rebrand:
Historic casino brand Horseshoe is coming to Black Hawk as Isle Casino Hotel Black Hawk begins transformation into the legendary brand this summer. The property evolution is expected to continue into the fall and will remain open throughout the transition.
The transformation into the legendary Horseshoe will include a renovated exterior with Horseshoe signage, newly refreshed rooms, a reimagined casino floor and more. In keeping with Horseshoe’s classic sophistication, the design team will incorporate a handcrafted feeling with tooled leather, dramatic colors, and the brand’s signature gold horseshoe iconography.
The ‘transformation’ will begin this summer and should be completed this fall. The property will remain open throughout. The property will also get a new brewpub:
Isle Casino Hotel’s fine dining experience, Roxy Restaurant and Bar, will be joined by Brew Brothers later in the year. In partnership with Caesars Sportsbook, Brew Brothers will offer a new, immersive way to catch a game. Started by the Carano family in 1995, Brew Brothers has been named Best Brewpub in America by Nightclub & Bar magazine and its Horseshoe Blackhawk location will feature local Colorado brews and an extensive food menu.
Actually, the Brew Brothers might be a good candidate for rebranding as well. There’s a number of beer focused establishments in the US and elsewhere named ‘Brew Brothers’ that are completely unrelated to the one mentioned in the quote above:
BREW BROTHERS (WESTON, WISCONSIN)
BREWS BROTHERS (BURBANK, CALIFORNIA)
BREWS BROTHERS (GALVESTON, TEXAS)
BREWS BROTHERS BAR AND GRILL (ROARING RIVER, NORTH CAROLINA)
BREWING BROTHERS (THREE LOCATIONS IN THE LONDON, ENGLAND AREA)
BREW BROTHERS (COFFEE SHOP IN KENDAL, THE LAKE DISTRICT, ENGLAND)
The Brew Brothers mentioned above is this one, located at the Eldorado in Reno. It is a damn good brewpub and has some of the best ‘pub food’ I’ve ever had (try the BBQ Smoked Burnt Ends appetizer). In fact, it looks like Caesars is trying to rebrand the brewpubs as THE Brew Brothers–there are now locations under that name at a number of properties including Eldorado Scioto Downs, Isle Casino Hotel Waterloo and Isle Casino Hotel Boonville (Missouri). Making it more confusing–there’s Brew Brothers (without the THE) at the Horseshoe Baltimore and another Brew Brothers (without the THE) at the Tropicana Laughlin. Judging from the press release quote above, the Black Hawk location will also be without the THE. And if all of this wasn’t confusing enough–the Reno location is called ‘Brews Brothers’ in all of the copy on its website but if you look under the hood at the HTML code the page title includes the THE.
The Isle Black Hawk was originally the licensee for the William Hill mobile app in Colorado. In addition, both it and the Lady Luck offered William Hill branded kiosk sports betting. They’ve all been rebranded under the Caesars Sportsbook name (though the William Hill brand is still listed on the Division of Gaming website). Both properties have a retail sports betting license but only offer kiosks. The Lady Luck is the master license holder for The Stars Group’s FoxBet branded mobile sportsbook app
So how about a quote? Here’s Isle Casino Hotel Black Hawk SVP and General Manager, Norris Hamilton who is looking forward to the transformation to the Horseshoe marquee:
“Isle Casino Hotel Black Hawk is the premier choice for gaming, dining and nightlife and the transformation into the iconic Horseshoe brand will only enhance the experience for our guests. We couldn’t be more excited to bring this legendary brand to Colorado and continue to offer unparalleled and elevated experiences.”
This is just a hunch, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Caesars sell their other property in Black Hawk–the Lady Luck Casino. There would be plenty of smaller gaming companies interested in buying it and there doesn’t look to be much upside for Caesars to keep it. Better to put their resources in upgrading the Horseshoe, which also gives them all of the online sports betting access they need.
