Churchill Downs holds groundbreaking ceremony for Terre Haute casino in Indiana
June 23, 2022
Churchill Downs holds a groundbreaking ceremony for its Queen of Terre Haute casino in Vigo County, Indiana. The event marks the beginning of the construction work on the gaming and entertainment complex. It is expected to complete within 18 months.
Churchill Downs poured $250 million into the casino occupying 400,000-square-foot of land at 4442 East Margaret Drive west to State Road 46. It will have a gaming space of 56,000 square feet filled with 1,000 slot machines and 50 table games. A new hotel with 125 rooms will also be built as well as a sportsbook and restaurants.
“This is going to be an amazing project for the city of Terre Haute and the entire Wabash Valley area. We’re bringing what is going to be a very unique offering from a tourism standpoint, a 10-floor hotel, over five restaurants,” said Churchill Downs general manager Mike Rich.
He then expressed his excitement about the project as well as connecting with the locals in Terre Haute. He said the casino will be unique and upscale.
“It’s going to be something very unique, something very upscale, and we’re excited to bring the offering to Terre Haute. I’m so excited to start a year and a half early to being that process partnering with the community, meeting with local legislators and local business leaders.”
The Queen of Terre Haute casino will bring benefits to the county by bringing in 1,000 construction and 500 permanent jobs as well as contributing $190 million to the local economy every year.
“It’ll put about 500 permanent jobs in the casino right here in Terre [Haute]. We’ll work really hard to hire locally and we’ll use local contractors and developers to the maximum extent,” said Bill Carstanjen, Kentucky-based Churchill Downs Inc. CEO.
He then said the city is filled with great elements including the area, people, and community including the casino site, which is located on the eastern side of the city.
“Terre Haute is a strong area, great people, great sense of the community. We love I-70; we love how Indianapolis is spread to the west, so all these things make it a great location.”
Caesar's expansion to Indiana
In partnership with the New York Racing Association (NYRA), the Caesars sports betting app is now operating in Indiana right after its launch in Ohio and Florida. The Caesar Racebook iGaming app offers horse race bets as well as 250 tracks in various parts of the world.
“The launch of Caesars Racebook is an important milestone as we continue to add wagering opportunities for our customers and livestreaming content for the first time,” Dan Shapiro, Caesars Digital senior vice president and chief development officer said earlier this month.
In Indiana, there are two racinos in the state and both are owned by Caesars. Racinos are a combined race track and casino but Caesars’ offers more than that with its casino gaming and sports wagering.
“Caesars Racebook is truly differentiated as the first horse racing advance deposit wagering app to include our award-winning Caesars Rewards loyalty program. We look forward to welcoming new horse racing customers and existing fans onto the platform and to working with NYRA Bets to grow horse racing as we deploy Caesars Racebook with plans to launch in about 30 states across the country.”
