FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT
Pam Colbert
Indiana Live! Casino
317-421-8975
Pam.Colbert@indy-live.com
State’s newest, area’s
largest casino opens Friday, March 13
Indiana Live! Casino set to open doors to public at 6:30 p.m.;
first 2,500 guests to receive free casino T-shirt
SHELBYVILLE, Ind. (Monday, March 9, 2009) - Thousands are expected Friday night to christen the region’s most highly anticipated casino, dining and entertainment destination when it officially opens. Indiana Live! Casino will open its doors to the public at 6:30 p.m. Friday.
Owned by Indiana Downs LLC and developed by Baltimore, Md.-based The Cordish Company, the closest casino to Indianapolis will then be open 24 hours a day seven days a week to visitors age 21 and older. The first 2,500 guests will receive a free Indiana Live! Casino T-shirt.
“I definitely feel the energy and excitement throughout the area in anticipation of the new Indiana Live! Casino’s grand opening,” said general manager Mark Hemmerle. “We are looking forward to showcasing this world-class facility and providing an unparalleled experience in the region.”
Some of the area’s most popular bands will entertain throughout the grand opening night. SoulShine will perform starting at 6:30 p.m. at the Center Bar. At 9:30 p.m., Phil Stevens and the Open Road will perform live at NASCAR® Sports Grille followed at 11 p.m. by Blonde Sonja back at the Center Bar. Strolling entertainment, including stilt walkers, a juggling unicycler and true Las Vegas showgirls, will also mix with casino guests throughout the night.
Upon entering the $200 million facility, guests will no doubt marvel at the upscale interior design and decorating accomplished by Las Vegas-based Klai Juba Architects and Cleo Design. The casino’s interior features dramatic lace ceilings, a 50-foot clear-story feature over the center of the gaming floor with transoms and skylights providing natural lighting, a 4,500-square-foot Center Bar with a sculptural free-form back bar dramatically lit with plasma screens integrated throughout, a unique collection of chandeliers fabricated from pierced copper panels that form cascading rectangular shapes, and a palette of natural stones, Venetian plaster walls and mosaic tiles.
The exterior of the project is equally dramatic with dynamic lighting, beautiful ponds and fountains and an eye-catching digital billboard.
The new Indiana Live! Casino will offer 2,000 high-tech slot machines and electronic blackjack, roulette and three-card poker devices on the casino floor. The 233,000-square-foot casino will also feature a state-of-the-art, spacious, enclosed poker room featuring Texas Hold’em and more.
Surrounding the gaming floor will be the area’s newest and most unique fine-dining and casual restaurants, action-filled bars, live daily entertainment, lounges and vibrant nightclubs.
Maker’s Mark Bourbon House & Lounge. The pinnacle of fine gourmet dining. A 200-seat steakhouse serving succulent dry-aged beef, the freshest seafood cooked to perfection and more in a chic atmosphere. Over 50 select bourbons and whiskies, and an extensive wine list.
NASCAR® Sports Grille. Casual, sports-themed gathering place offering fun, contemporary American cuisine. Find a full-service bar with domestic, imported, and microbrewed beers. Watch your favorite sports on state-of-the-art plasma screens plus, live entertainment every weekend.
Live! Market. Reminiscent of a Mediterranean market place, it’s a world of unique food with an array of diverse open market stations. Fresh food made right before your eyes and just the way you want it! Live! Market also offers a vast array of gourmet foods available for purchases, including gourmet foods, spices, dressing and more.
Angels Rock Bar. Part lounge, part club, all rock ’n’ roll. Full-service bar with sexy “Angels” and your favorite classic and modern rock music. Enjoy electronic table games and wild performances from our staff behind the bar and throughout the room.
Mosaic Nightclub and Lounge. A sleek and sophisticated lounge featuring a bottle service menu and late night DJ. Fun, flirty and high-energy, Mosaic is an upscale lounge offering premium cocktails, wine and specialty martinis served by the Live! Angels. Staff will be dancing on every surface with pulsating music in the background.
Indiana Live! Casino has paid the state of Indiana in excess of $300 million in fees and taxes and has generated well in excess of $54 million in taxes on gaming revenues, excluding income and wage, sales, property and business taxes, in its first nine months of operations. Nearly $32 million will go directly to the state of Indiana’s Property Tax Reduction Trust Fund to benefit all Indiana residents while more than $3.7 million will stay in Shelby County and go directly to cities and towns within the county. More than $18.7 million is dedicated to the state’s horse racing industry for supplementing racing purses and to horsemen’s associations while $500,000 will be utilized by the state Division of Mental Health to fight problem gambling.
The $200 million Indiana Live! Casino project employs more than 750 people and carries an estimated annual payroll including salaries, wages and benefits of more than $20 million a year.
Indiana Live! Casino is adjacent to Indiana Downs race track, a 280-acre venue that conducts live racing and simulcasting for standardbreds, thoroughbreds and quarter horses throughout the year. For more, visit Indiana Live Casino online at www.indianalivecasino.com or visit the casino’s blog at www.indianalivecasino.com/blog.
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ABOUT INDIANA LIVE! CASINO
Indiana Live! Casino will be central Indiana’s premier entertainment
destination. Located just 15 minutes from Indianapolis on Interstate
74 in Shelbyville, Ind., Indiana Live! Casino will open its 233,000-square-foot
facility on March 13, 2009, offering 2,000 high-tech convenient ticket-in/ticket-out
machines. Guests will enjoy a variety of the newest themed reel and video
slots offering denominations from a penny to $100. Also, players will
enjoy a wide selection of electronic table games, including blackjack,
roulette and three-card poker. The new Indiana Live! Casino will feature
an expansive state-of-the art poker room offering the best in Texas Hold’em.
Complementing its unparalleled gaming experiences, Indiana Live! Casino
will feature six unique dining and entertainment venues under one roof,
offering the area’s best in elegant and casual dining, vibrant
nightlife, live entertainment and much more. Indiana Live! Casino is
open 24 hours a day and seven days a week to visitors age 21 and older
and is located adjacent to Indiana Downs race track, a 280-acre venue
that conducts live racing and simulcasting for standardbreds, thoroughbreds
and quarter horses throughout the year. Indiana Live! Casino is owned
by Indiana Downs LLC. The project is being developed and managed by Baltimore,
Md.-based developer The Cordish Company. The Cordish Company’s
Gaming Operations are headed by CEO and partner Dennis Gomes. For more,
visit www.indianalivecasino.com.
ABOUT THE CORDISH COMPANY
The Cordish Company (www.cordish.com), now in its fourth generation of
family ownership, is a multi-billion dollar conglomerate including
one of the leading real estate development companies in the United
States. The company has diverse development expertise with divisions
focused on Entertainment and Mixed-Use, Gaming and Lodging, Sports
Anchored Districts, Shopping and Lifestyle Retail and Office and Residential.
The Cordish Company also owns and manages a diverse group of operating
businesses, ranging from gaming and leisure, restaurants and clubs,
live music promotion and film and media distribution. The company values
itself on the quality of its operations, its long-term relationships
and high level of integrity in all of its endeavors. The Cordish Company
is the largest and most successful developer of entertainment districts
and concepts in the United States. In particular, the company has unparalleled
experience in creating and revitalizing high-profile destinations in
urban core locations. Many of the Cordish Company's projects involve
public/private partnerships and are of unique significance to the cities
in which they are located. Prime examples are the company's prominent
role in the redevelopment of highly successful projects in Baltimore's
world-famous Inner Harbor; Atlantic City, N.J.; Hollywood, Fla.; Charleston,
S.C.; Houston, Texas; Louisville, Ky.; and Tampa, Fla. The Cordish
Company has received the highest possible national awards in its various
areas of expertise. In real estate, The Cordish Company has received
an unprecedented six Urban Land Institute Awards of Excellence.
Indiana Live! Casino - 4300 N. Michigan Road - Shelbyville - Indiana 46176
www.indianalivecasino.com