Bally’s officially rebranding to Horseshoe Las Vegas

Caesars Entertainment Inc. will officially rebrand Bally’s Las Vegas into the Horseshoe Las Vegas on Thursday, after first announcing plans for the name change in January.

The Strip hotel-casino will be Caesars’ 10th Horseshoe-branded property, following the company’s grand opening of the Lake Charles, Louisiana, location on Monday.

Jason Gregorec, senior vice president and general manager of Horseshoe Las Vegas, said the property’s transformation was partly about connecting existing Horseshoe customers to the reimagined Las Vegas spot.

“It’s coming back home, but also experiencing (Horseshoe Las Vegas) for the first time,” Gregorec said. “People will want to be the first to come to Las Vegas.”

The Horseshoe brand is no stranger to Nevada.

Benny Binion, the famed Texas gambling magnate and horse trader, opened the original Horseshoe Club in downtown Las Vegas in 1951. His son, Jack, later became president of the Horseshoe and developed the property into the preeminent spot for gamblers, partly by founding the World Series of Poker in 1970. The brand then furthered its reputation by building casinos across the country.

In 2004, the Horseshoe was sold to Harrah’s Entertainment, which changed the property’s name to Binion’s Gambling Hall and Hotel. Harrah’s, which would later become Caesars Entertainment, sold the casino to MTR Gaming Group, but kept the rights to the Horseshoe and World Series of Poker names. (Binion’s is now owned by TLC Casino Enterprises Inc., a holding company owned by Terry Caudill.)

Rich tones and horseshoe logos

Visitors familiar with the property, on Las Vegas Boulevard South and Flamingo Road, can expect to see new carpeting, wallpaper, paint, millwork and a more spacious casino floor featuring a new layout. The finishes — horseshoe logos and dark earth tones — are similar to what guests would find at other Horseshoe properties.

In June, Caesars also added Jack Binion’s Steak, a steakhouse brand used in other Caesars and Horseshoe locations in the country. Horseshoe also plans to open M.Y. Asia, led by Chef Martin Yan, in 2023. Additional amenities and updated signage are also expected next year.

The property recently opened a new arcade, called Arcade, which took over the former sportsbook space, and moved the book’s counter to the main gaming floor.

Included in the renovations is an updated poker room, now called the World Series of Poker Hall of Fame Poker Room. Caesars updated the poker tables and created a new layout that adds four tables, bringing the total to 18.

“It’s a way for people to feel comfortable when they come back,” Gregorec said. “It’s still the same feel and level of service, the Jack Binion’s steakhouse and the poker room, those types of things.”

Poker is a big driver for the changes. The brand has a long history with the game as the downtown spot hosted the WSOP for decades before Harrah’s bought the rights and moved it to the Rio in 2005.

The company moved the event in 2022 to Paris Las Vegas and the now former Bally’s site. It will return to both resorts starting May 30, Caesars announced Monday.

Gregorec said the WSOP event is his favorite. He viewed last year’s event as a “tremendous success” and sees its continuation as a connection to a more vintage, historic Vegas.

“Combining (the Horseshoe and WSOP) is the perfect fit because that’s where it all started — in the original Jack Binion’s Horseshoe. It all came together perfectly,” he said.

McKenna Ross is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms. Contact her at mross@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mckenna_ross_ on Twitter.