Starting soon, evidence of the 2-year expansion and rebranding project at Harrah’s New Orleans at the foot of Canal Street will become visible, as the South Peters Street entrance gets a facelift and new windows are added overlooking Poydras Street, as the property transforms into Caesars New Orleans.
Kennedy Smith, Harrah’s New Orleans vice president of marketing, said, “We’ve been doing work for nearly two years but a lot of it has been behind the scenes. Beginning in January, you’re really going to see it and notice a difference.” She added, “For us to continue to grow, we have to stay relevant and fresh and new. This facility opened in 1999. While I don’t want to refer to it as old, with the expansion of gaming, if we want to continue to attract high rollers, we need to be able to offer first-class amenities.”
The current phase of the project, to be completed in April, is part of the property’s $325-plus million expansion and upgrade, Smith said. The entire renovation is anticipated to be finished in summer 2024.
Plans include a new 340-room, 14-floor hotel adjacent to the casino. In 2019, casino officials decided to add a hotel to its existing 450-room Harrah’s hotel, since the casino frequently paid to house high rollers at nearby properties.
Work on the new hotel began early last year with the demolition of the covered entrance and valet parking area. Two of the floors will operate as a separate Nobu Hotel, a Japanese luxury brand owned in part by actor Robert De Niro. “It’s like a hotel within a hotel and will be a higher price point for customers looking for something a little different,” Smith said.
Interior renovations will include replacing the heavy framing and dark carpet with a lighter, more contemporary décor, Smith said. Work has begun on updating 20,000 square feet of gaming space, about 25 percent of the casino floor. When work is completed there, construction will move to the next quarter until the entire floor has been updated, Smith said. She noted Caesars Sportsbook and Caesars World Series of Poker opened in September.
A new food hall will open next month in the area of the former theater. The space will offer three restaurants branded by celebrity chefs and a separate restaurant space on the casino floor also will be operated by a local celebrity chef. In addition, a Nobu Restaurant and another food outlet also will be located on the casino ground floor.
Smith said the building will be painted in phases and the Harrah’s neon sign eventually will be replaced with gold Caesars lettering.
