Harrah's New Orleans facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Harrah's New Orleans |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
 |
|
| Location | New Orleans, LA 70130 |
| Address | 8 Canal Street |
| Opening date | October 30, 1999 |
| Theme | French Quarter |
| No. of rooms | 450 |
| Total gaming space | 115,000 sq ft (10,700 m2) |
| Notable restaurants | The Besh Steakhouse |
| Casino type | Land-based |
| Owner | Vici Properties |
| Operating license holder | Caesars Entertainment |
| Renovated in | 2005, 2006 |
Harrah's New Orleans is a large entertainment center in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is located very close to the Mississippi River and Canal Street. This huge building has about 2,100 slot machines and more than 90 table games. It also has a special room for poker.
The casino is owned by a company called Vici Properties. It is run by another company named Caesars Entertainment. Harrah's New Orleans offers many places to eat, from casual buffet style to fancy restaurants.
When it first opened in 1999, Harrah's rented hotel rooms nearby for its guests. To have its own place, the casino opened a tall, 27-story hotel building in 2006. This hotel has 450 rooms and is right across the street from the casino. It opened just before the New Orleans Saints football team returned to the Louisiana Superdome.
Harrah's New Orleans is special because it is the only land-based casino in Louisiana with table games. Other casinos in the state are usually on boats or are connected to horse racing tracks. Because of this, it is known in Louisiana law as "the official gaming establishment."
The casino had to close for a while after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. But it reopened on February 17, 2006, right in the middle of Mardi Gras celebrations. The spot where the casino now stands used to be a convention center called the Rivergate. This building was taken down in 1995 to make way for Harrah's. There's even a short tunnel that was built for a different project, which is now used for parking and an entrance to the casino.
Contents
How Harrah's New Orleans Began
The idea for this casino came from Christopher Hemmeter. He was a hotel developer who wanted to build big casino projects. His biggest plan was to create a huge casino in New Orleans. At the time, it was planned to be "the world's largest casino." The design was meant to look like famous old buildings, like the Monte Carlo casino.
The people planning the casino thought it would bring many new visitors to the city. They also believed it would make a lot of money each year. These ideas came from how well other gambling places were doing nearby.
Getting the Casino License
In 1993, two companies, Hemmeter's group and Caesars World, got the right to use the Rivergate land. This land was the only place in Louisiana where a land-based casino could be built by law. Another company, Harrah's Entertainment, also wanted the license.
However, in August 1993, the state decided to give the only casino license to Harrah's, not to Hemmeter's group. This caused a problem: one company had the land, and another had the license. To fix this, the two companies worked together. They formed a new group called "Harrah's Jazz."
Early Challenges and Opening
Harrah's Jazz opened a smaller, temporary casino in the Municipal Auditorium. This was to start making money while the main casino was being built. The temporary casino opened in May 1995. But just a week later, it had to close because of a flood.
The temporary location was not very good. The amount of money made was much lower than expected. Also, most of the people gambling there were locals, not tourists from out of town. This meant the casino wasn't helping the tourist industry as much as hoped.
Because of these problems, Harrah's Jazz stopped building the main casino in November 1995. Many construction workers and casino employees lost their jobs. Later, Harrah's Entertainment took over the project. They finished building the casino, though it was a bit smaller than first planned. Harrah's New Orleans Casino finally opened in late October 1999.
Recent Ownership Changes
In July 2020, Eldorado Resorts bought Caesars Entertainment. This meant Eldorado Resorts took over running Harrah's New Orleans. At the same time, Vici Properties bought the casino's land and buildings for $790 million. They then leased it back to Eldorado, which changed its name to Caesars Entertainment.
