Horseshoe Casino Cincinnati plans complimentary shuttle service with partner hotels

CINCINNATI - With less than a month to go until the Horseshoe Casino Cincinnati opens, management took another step forward Wednesday in the final preparations for the grand opening.

The casino will partner with seven downtown hotels to offer a complimentary shuttle service to and from the $400 million facility, which will operate from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. Sunday through Thursday, and from 8 a.m. to 4 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, according to a statement released by Rock Gaming LLC and Caesars Entertainment Corporation.

The Cincinnatian Hotel, the 21c Museum Hotel Cincinnati, Garfield Suites Hotel, Hyatt Regency Cincinnati, Residence Inn Marriott Cincinnati, SpringHill Suites Cincinnati and The Westin Cincinnati have all partnered with the casino.

"It's great for the city," said Martin Pittman, general manager of The Cincinnatian. "It's going to help keep business flowing on a regular basis. It's just a great piece of business."

The casino's location places it "conveniently near the most luxurious hotels in downtown Cincinnati,” Mike Warren, Horseshoe Cincinnati’s vice president of marketing, said in a news release. “We expect to attract six million visits annually to the casino, and we’re delighted to send our guests to these downtown hotels to explore some of the best hospitality that Cincinnati has to offer.”

The casino's developers didn't have a specific estimate on how many room nights would be generated by the new development. But Horseshoe Cleveland generated 32,000 room nights for its three partner hotels during its first six months of operation there, said Jennifer Kulczycki, a spokeswoman for Rock Gaming LLC. Rock Gaming and Caesars Entertainment Corp. have partnered to develop the casinos in Cincinnati and Cleveland.

The downtown hotel partners are aligned with Horseshoe Cincinnati through Caesars Entertainment Total Rewards guest loyalty program with hotel reservation now being accepted. Kulczycki said there are already more than 250,000 Total Rewards members within 100 miles of the Cincinnati casino.

"It would be our expectation that that number would grow," she said.

Total rewards members will get special prices on the casino's room blocks at partcipating hotels, she said. More hotels could be added to the program, she said, or some could be removed.

The casino is scheduled to open March 4.