Horseshoe Casino in Cincinnati will open March 4

CINCINNATI - The new Horseshoe Casino in Cincinnati will open Monday, March 4, 2013.

On Wednesday, The Ohio Casino Control Commission announced the official public opening date.

Horseshoe Cincinnati is the state's fourth casino and will be the last of four voter-approved full-service casinos to open in the state in less than one year. Casino owner and developer Rock Ohio Caesars LLC also opened Ohio’s first casino, Horseshoe Cleveland, in May.

Construction at the site, which began in February 2011, is in its final stages, according to Steve Rosenthal, a principal of Rock Gaming and a leader on the casino's design and construction team.

“We expect final work inside and out to wrap up next month,” said Rosenthal in a press release. “To date, more than 2,000 construction workers have contributed to make this development a first-class destination."

Kevin Kline, the casino’s senior vice president and general manager, said hiring is going well to have the casino ready for its opening.

“Our casino operations team is ‘All In’ and will be ready to debut our legendary Horseshoe brand to the Cincinnati community in 82 days,” said Kline in a press release.

Kline said recruiting efforts to identify, train and hire about 1,700 new casino workers is on schedule and that several hundred slot machines have already been placed on the gaming floor. He also said that partnership discussions with a variety of downtown restaurants and hotels are under way and will be announced in the coming months prior to opening.

The Horseshoe team will convene a pre-opening controlled demonstration on Wednesday, Feb. 27 before Casino Control Commissioners and staff.

“Horseshoe Cincinnati is a huge new addition to downtown,” said Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory. “It’s putting thousands of Cincinnatians to work and it will open the door for new business development in the surrounding area. The casino opening is an exciting way to kick off 2013 in Cincinnati."

Located on 23 acres in the northeast corner of downtown, the $400 million urban casino development spans more than 400,000 square feet and includes full-service gaming, sit-down and casual dining options and onsite parking. The casino will also offer nearly 33,000 square feet of multi-purpose and special function space for social, corporate, private and live entertainment events.

Anyone interested in applying to work at the casino should visit http://www.horseshoe.com/info/cincinnati/careers.html.