Jack Entertainment, which took over the Horseshoe Cleveland casino, Horseshoe Cincinnati Casino and Thistledown Racino in Ohio nearly a year ago from Rock Gaming, buying out the shares owned by Caesar’s Entertainment.
The Jack brand does not seem to have greatly excited players, and revenues from the casinos continue to fall behind the Hard Rock Rocksino Northfield Park, which has recorded the highest revenue of all of Ohio’s four casinos and seven racinos.
Alan Silver, a former casino executive who is an assistant professor of tourism at Ohio University and consults with Nathan Associates Inc. told the Cleveland Plain Dealer, “It is too early to tell but I am not overly optimistic about the name,” Silver said. “You had such a great brand [Caesar’s] before. It was known world-wide for gambling. The Total Reward system was really unsurpassed.” He added, “It takes time and a lot of effort.”
The Jack Cleveland Casino opened in May after its renovation and rebranding, which included replacing hundreds of signs and redesigning 125 tables.
Meanwhile the Horseshoe Cleveland Casino has closed and is beginning its own transformation to the Jack Cleveland Casino. At the same time the company has added thousands of patrons to its new loyalty program, ClubJack. This may not assuage the customers annoyed at losing Caesar’s Total Rewards program. However, the casino hopes to make the ClubJack more valuable to players by allowing them to earn free parking next to the casino.
Several events during the summer cut into the Cleveland casino’s revenues, including the Republican National Convention, which, contrary to normal, did not improve business.
The renovated Jack Thistledown opened in March after a $70 million expansion which added restaurants and a sports bar, plus a 1,000-space garage. Revenues were $10.5 for the month before the renovations. After the renovations, they were $9.1 million and $10.2 million respectively.
Meanwhile the Hard Rock Rocksino Northfield Park introduced a new branding efforts of a “Vegas experience at an Ohio address.” Its monthly revenues have ranged from $17.3 million to $20 million for each month in 2016.
