Horseshoe Southern Indiana - Construction and Caesars Era

Construction and Caesars Era

On November 8, 1994, a ballot proposal to allow riverboat gambling was passed by the residents of Harrison County, Indiana, following legislation passed by the Indiana state government to allow such gambling in the Hoosier state. In January 1995 five different proposals were given to the Indiana Gaming Commission in order to begin a riverboat gambling organization in Harrison County. Over a year passed before the proposition by the partnership of the ITT Corporation's Caesar's division and Riverboat Development Incorporated (RDI) was approval, granting the Caesar's World/Riverboat Development Incorporated partnership the preliminary license in May 1996.

The initial plan of the Caesar's World/Riverboat Development Incorporated partnership was for the complex to cost $228 million dollars, but by early 1998 the projected cost was raised to $275 million. They chose a site near Bridgeport, Indiana, an unincorporated town, placed immediately on the Harrison County side of the Harrison County/Floyd County border; fifteen miles (24 km) southwest of Louisville, Kentucky (Kentucky's largest metropolis), with fifteen miles being the closest a riverboat casino could be built legally. Attempts to delay the construction of Caesars Indiana by Louisville officials, who wanted to protect the gambling revenue of Churchill Downs and other Kentucky horse racing interests, and by environmental groups who were concerned about what the proposed Caesars Indiana would do to the immediate air quality, waterways, and wildlife of the building site. The Caesar's World/Riverboat Development Incorporated partnership had already spent $11 million dollars on making necessary improvements to use the newly-acquired property. A preliminary study by the United States Army Corps of Engineers in February 1998 determined that further environmental studies, which would have delayed the building of the necessary facilities for Caesars Indiana, were not necessary. However, the United States Army Corps of Engineers did tell the Caesar's World/Riverboat Development Incorporated partnership that they would have to be careful as to how many trees were cleared, and what would happen to runoff water.

Caesars Indiana was finally opened to the public on November 20, 1998. It was initially supposed to start in the Summer of 1998, but interference by three different Indiana environmental groups issuing lawsuits, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (due to the United States Army Corps of Engineers saying a full environmental study was unnecessary), and heavy rains in the Spring of 1998 delayed the opening. A very important person cruise on November 16, 1998, was the first sailing of the riverboat.

Since 1998, Caesars Indiana has employed 2,400 people. It has been studied that Caesars Indiana has cost the state of Kentucky $12 million in lottery revenue on an annual basis. Because the original charter of the Colony of Virginia gave Virginia ownership of the entire Ohio River, which now forms the border between Kentucky and Indiana, Kentucky (which was split from Virginia in 1792) claims ownership of the entire river, and has often threatened to stop operations of riverboat casinos on the Ohio in neighboring states. Notably, a resolution proposed in the Kentucky House in 2002 called for "the purchase of a submarine to patrol the waters of the Commonwealth and search and destroy all casino riverboats." However, the non-binding resolution never came up for a vote, and its sponsor said the resolution was in jest, and to protest Kentucky's continued prohibition of gambling.

From June 7 to June 19, 1999, Caesars Indiana was shut down due to a river barge hitting the riverboat and due to excessive silt at its mooring site. It shut down again from March 20 to the 23rd in 2008 due to unusually high river levels. High again caused them to close in March 2011 and in April 2011, each for a handful of days.

As part of its continual existence, the State of Indiana requires Caesars Indiana to give money to two different foundations in Harrison and Floyd Counties.

Caesars Indiana was given as an example to discredit Kentucky governor Ernie Fletcher's claims that Kentucky casinos would cause prostitution during the 2007 Kentucky governors race.

In recent years, Caesars Indiana has co-sponsored Thunder Over Louisville.

An April 18, 2008 Illinois earthquake caused Caesars to lose electrical power, and having to rely on backup generators.