Caesars Windsor
Encyclopedia
Caesars Windsor in Windsor
, Ontario
is one of four casino
s in the Detroit–Windsor area. Owned by the government of the province of Ontario
(through the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation
), it is operated by Caesars Entertainment. Both the original Casino Windsor and the new expansion were designed by WZMH Architects. The casino is located on Windsor's riverfront overlooking the Detroit skyline near the Canadian end of the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel. The creation of this casino was a leading factor in the legalization of casino gambling
in Detroit.
The "Forum" hotel tower stands at 23 stories tall and opened in 1998. The "Augustus" tower stands at 27 stories and opened in 2008. Caesars Windsor attracts about six million visitors annually. Its main competitors are MGM Grand Detroit
, MotorCity Casino
, and Greektown Casino
in Detroit. Caesars Windsor attracts people from Michigan
, Ohio
, Illinois
and other states in the Midwest United States.
; a large portion of the profits are returned to the provincial government.
In December 2006, Harrah's announced that it would change the name of the casino to Caesars Windsor. The name switch coincided with a number of other significant changes, including a new 27-story hotel (the "Augustus Tower"), a 5,000 seat entertainment centre, and 100000 square feet (9,290.3 m²) of convention space.
The changes were necessary to make the casino more desirable to U.S. gamblers. For a variety of reasons: 9/11 border security
, closing of the exchange rate
gap, a labour strike that closed the casino for a month in 2004, the popularity of the three Detroit properties, and provincial smoking ban, Caesars Windsor has failed to maintain its customer base from its peak years in the late 1990s. Before September 11, 2001, it was the most popular casino in the Detroit market. Efforts are being made to make it a destination resort for tourists, and to reward clients of the Caesars brand, a high end name in gaming. Caesars Windsor reopened on June 19, 2008 and featured world-famous pianist
Billy Joel
who performed at the re-launch ceremonies to an invitation-only crowd.
The first Casino Windsor opened in a temporary location in September 1994, as Ontario's first casino. The former Art Gallery of Windsor located on Riverside Drive was refitted to house the interim Casino Windsor. The permanent casino and hotel was opened to the public on July 29, 1998 a few blocks west of the temporary casino.
The casino saw record numbers, attracting millions of customers from the U.S. and Canada. Line-ups wrapped around the building. In response, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation announced it would bring a riverboat casino to the riverfront. The Northern Belle was located at the foot of Ouellette Ave. on the Detroit River. It was open from December 1995 to July 1998.
During this time, the permanent casino was under construction on the former Windsor Market site. It opened on July 29, 1998 with a grand opening celebration with a James Bond 007 theme. Daisy Fuentes and Regis Philbin were among the stars that attended. The new site included a waterfall and tropical entrance, hotel, five restaurants, gift shops and an entertainment lounge.
On February 14, 2005, representatives from the Ontario Government, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation and the Executive team announced a $400-million expansion project which was completed in June 2008. It added a convention centre, a 5,000-seat entertainment centre and another hotel tower. Renovations also began at the current facility, adding new bars, a large buffet and repositioning many of the slots and table games. The official relaunch happened on June 19, 2008.
In 2006, the first licensed sports book in Canada was opened in the casino at Legends Sports Bar. Players can bet on select professional and college sports through Game Picks sports wagering. The venue is designed with booths and large high-definition television
s above the gaming boards as well as in a theatre style seating section. Unlike in Las Vegas, players are not allowed wager on single sporting events at the sports book - the reason for this is that single-sports wagering remains explicitly prohibited in the Criminal Code of Canada
.
Effective May 31, 2006, Casino Windsor became one of the few smoke-free commercial casinos in North America. This was to comply with the Smoke Free Ontario Act, which bans smoking in all enclosed workplaces and public places.
exchange rate
had given people from the United States an economic incentive to gamble at Caesars Windsor. The exchange rate was a major contributor to U.S. gamblers crossing the border in Casino Windsor's boom
years of the late 1990s. The Canadian dollar
was trading below the sixty-five-cent mark compared to the U.S. dollar in the late 1990s, giving U.S. visitors a price incentive to gamble in Windsor as well as spend in the city's hotels and hospitality establishments. The rebounding of the Canadian dollar, in 2006 breaking the ninety-cent mark, which is often linked to the higher price of oil, since Canada is an oil exporting nation, has negatively impacted the casino and the Windsor tourist trade, especially when the added sales taxes are factored into decisions. Nevertheless, because the Canadian government does not tax gambling winnings, the casino often promotes this in order to draw clientele from the United States
who are left to themselves to declare taxes on their winnings.
In 2007, the Canadian dollar eclipsed and even exceeded the U.S. dollar by several cents, which has added to the decline of the Windsor, Ontario hospitality sector. The casino must compete with three Detroit casino resorts which opened expanded resort-style properties in 2008. The positive exchange rate for Canadians has drawn them across the border to shop and gamble, and Windsor has joined other cities in North America in a recession
.
Caesars Windsor is popular with some 19 and 20-year-old Americans because the drinking age in Ontario is 19 compared to 21 in the US. Gambling in Detroit is also set to age 21.
Windsor, Ontario
Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada and is located in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, Ontario, although administratively separated from the county government. Separated by the Detroit River, Windsor...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
is one of four casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
s in the Detroit–Windsor area. Owned by the government of the province of Ontario
Government of Ontario
The Government of Ontario refers to the provincial government of the province of Ontario, Canada. Its powers and structure are set out in the Constitution Act, 1867....
(through the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation
Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation
The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation , known for corporate branding purposes simply as OLG since 2006, is a Crown Corporation of the Government of Ontario, Canada. It is responsible for the province's lotteries, charity and Aboriginal casinos, commercial casinos, and slot machines at...
), it is operated by Caesars Entertainment. Both the original Casino Windsor and the new expansion were designed by WZMH Architects. The casino is located on Windsor's riverfront overlooking the Detroit skyline near the Canadian end of the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel. The creation of this casino was a leading factor in the legalization of casino gambling
Gambling
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
in Detroit.
The "Forum" hotel tower stands at 23 stories tall and opened in 1998. The "Augustus" tower stands at 27 stories and opened in 2008. Caesars Windsor attracts about six million visitors annually. Its main competitors are MGM Grand Detroit
MGM Grand Detroit
The MGM Grand Detroit in Detroit, Michigan is one of three casino resort hotels in the city, and one of four in the Detroit–Windsor area. The luxury resort hotel opened on October 3, 2007 with a grand event which included models and celebrities including Ashanti, Kid Rock, male model Cameron...
, MotorCity Casino
MotorCity Casino
MotorCity Casino Hotel in Detroit, Michigan is one of three casino resort hotels in the city, and one of four in the Detroit–Windsor area. The $825 million complex incorporates the historic Wagner Baking Company building designed c.1915 by architect Walter W. Ahlschlager, who went on to design the...
, and Greektown Casino
Greektown Casino
Greektown Casino Hotel in Detroit, Michigan is one of three casino resort hotels in the city, and one of four in the Detroit-Windsor area. Greektown Casino, LLC is majority owned by Greektown Superholdings, Inc. and Greektown Newco Sub Inc...
in Detroit. Caesars Windsor attracts people from Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
and other states in the Midwest United States.
Management
The Casino is publicly owned by the Ontario Lottery and Gaming CorporationOntario Lottery and Gaming Corporation
The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation , known for corporate branding purposes simply as OLG since 2006, is a Crown Corporation of the Government of Ontario, Canada. It is responsible for the province's lotteries, charity and Aboriginal casinos, commercial casinos, and slot machines at...
; a large portion of the profits are returned to the provincial government.
In December 2006, Harrah's announced that it would change the name of the casino to Caesars Windsor. The name switch coincided with a number of other significant changes, including a new 27-story hotel (the "Augustus Tower"), a 5,000 seat entertainment centre, and 100000 square feet (9,290.3 m²) of convention space.
The changes were necessary to make the casino more desirable to U.S. gamblers. For a variety of reasons: 9/11 border security
Homeland security
Homeland security is an umbrella term for security efforts to protect states against terrorist activity. Specifically, is a concerted national effort to prevent terrorist attacks within the U.S., reduce America’s vulnerability to terrorism, and minimize the damage and recover from attacks that do...
, closing of the exchange rate
Exchange rate
In finance, an exchange rate between two currencies is the rate at which one currency will be exchanged for another. It is also regarded as the value of one country’s currency in terms of another currency...
gap, a labour strike that closed the casino for a month in 2004, the popularity of the three Detroit properties, and provincial smoking ban, Caesars Windsor has failed to maintain its customer base from its peak years in the late 1990s. Before September 11, 2001, it was the most popular casino in the Detroit market. Efforts are being made to make it a destination resort for tourists, and to reward clients of the Caesars brand, a high end name in gaming. Caesars Windsor reopened on June 19, 2008 and featured world-famous pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
Billy Joel
Billy Joel
William Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
who performed at the re-launch ceremonies to an invitation-only crowd.
History
The casino saw record numbers, attracting millions of customers from the U.S. and Canada. Line-ups wrapped around the building. In response, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation announced it would bring a riverboat casino to the riverfront. The Northern Belle was located at the foot of Ouellette Ave. on the Detroit River. It was open from December 1995 to July 1998.
During this time, the permanent casino was under construction on the former Windsor Market site. It opened on July 29, 1998 with a grand opening celebration with a James Bond 007 theme. Daisy Fuentes and Regis Philbin were among the stars that attended. The new site included a waterfall and tropical entrance, hotel, five restaurants, gift shops and an entertainment lounge.
On February 14, 2005, representatives from the Ontario Government, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation and the Executive team announced a $400-million expansion project which was completed in June 2008. It added a convention centre, a 5,000-seat entertainment centre and another hotel tower. Renovations also began at the current facility, adding new bars, a large buffet and repositioning many of the slots and table games. The official relaunch happened on June 19, 2008.
In 2006, the first licensed sports book in Canada was opened in the casino at Legends Sports Bar. Players can bet on select professional and college sports through Game Picks sports wagering. The venue is designed with booths and large high-definition television
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
s above the gaming boards as well as in a theatre style seating section. Unlike in Las Vegas, players are not allowed wager on single sporting events at the sports book - the reason for this is that single-sports wagering remains explicitly prohibited in the Criminal Code of Canada
Criminal Code of Canada
The Criminal Code or Code criminel is a law that codifies most criminal offences and procedures in Canada. Its official long title is "An Act respecting the criminal law"...
.
Effective May 31, 2006, Casino Windsor became one of the few smoke-free commercial casinos in North America. This was to comply with the Smoke Free Ontario Act, which bans smoking in all enclosed workplaces and public places.
Business climate
Initially, the US–Canadian currencyCurrency
In economics, currency refers to a generally accepted medium of exchange. These are usually the coins and banknotes of a particular government, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...
exchange rate
Exchange rate
In finance, an exchange rate between two currencies is the rate at which one currency will be exchanged for another. It is also regarded as the value of one country’s currency in terms of another currency...
had given people from the United States an economic incentive to gamble at Caesars Windsor. The exchange rate was a major contributor to U.S. gamblers crossing the border in Casino Windsor's boom
Boom and bust
A credit boom-bust cycle is an episode characterized by a sustained increase in several economics indicators followed by a sharp and rapid contraction. Commonly the boom is driven by a rapid expansion of credit to the private sector accompanied with rising prices of commodities and stock market index...
years of the late 1990s. The Canadian dollar
Canadian dollar
The Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. As of 2007, the Canadian dollar is the 7th most traded currency in the world. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
was trading below the sixty-five-cent mark compared to the U.S. dollar in the late 1990s, giving U.S. visitors a price incentive to gamble in Windsor as well as spend in the city's hotels and hospitality establishments. The rebounding of the Canadian dollar, in 2006 breaking the ninety-cent mark, which is often linked to the higher price of oil, since Canada is an oil exporting nation, has negatively impacted the casino and the Windsor tourist trade, especially when the added sales taxes are factored into decisions. Nevertheless, because the Canadian government does not tax gambling winnings, the casino often promotes this in order to draw clientele from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
who are left to themselves to declare taxes on their winnings.
In 2007, the Canadian dollar eclipsed and even exceeded the U.S. dollar by several cents, which has added to the decline of the Windsor, Ontario hospitality sector. The casino must compete with three Detroit casino resorts which opened expanded resort-style properties in 2008. The positive exchange rate for Canadians has drawn them across the border to shop and gamble, and Windsor has joined other cities in North America in a recession
Recession
In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction, a general slowdown in economic activity. During recessions, many macroeconomic indicators vary in a similar way...
.
Caesars Windsor is popular with some 19 and 20-year-old Americans because the drinking age in Ontario is 19 compared to 21 in the US. Gambling in Detroit is also set to age 21.
See also
- List of casinos in Canada
- Harrah's EntertainmentHarrah's EntertainmentCaesars Entertainment Corporation is a private gaming corporation that owns and operates over 50 casinos, hotels, and seven golf courses under several brands. The company, based in Paradise, Nevada, is the largest gaming company in the world, with yearly revenues $8.9 billion...
- Caesars PalaceCaesars PalaceCaesars Palace is a luxury hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, an unincorporated township in Clark County, Nevada, United States in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. Caesars Palace is owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment Corp....
- Caesars Atlantic CityCaesars Atlantic CityCaesars Atlantic City is a luxury hotel, casino, and spa resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Like Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, it has an ancient Roman theme. Atlantic City's second casino, it opened in 1979 as the Caesars Boardwalk Regency. The . casino has over 3,400 slot machines, and is one of...
- Ontario Lottery and Gaming CorporationOntario Lottery and Gaming CorporationThe Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation , known for corporate branding purposes simply as OLG since 2006, is a Crown Corporation of the Government of Ontario, Canada. It is responsible for the province's lotteries, charity and Aboriginal casinos, commercial casinos, and slot machines at...
- Detroit
- Windsor, OntarioWindsor, OntarioWindsor is the southernmost city in Canada and is located in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, Ontario, although administratively separated from the county government. Separated by the Detroit River, Windsor...
- Greektown CasinoGreektown CasinoGreektown Casino Hotel in Detroit, Michigan is one of three casino resort hotels in the city, and one of four in the Detroit-Windsor area. Greektown Casino, LLC is majority owned by Greektown Superholdings, Inc. and Greektown Newco Sub Inc...
- MotorCity CasinoMotorCity CasinoMotorCity Casino Hotel in Detroit, Michigan is one of three casino resort hotels in the city, and one of four in the Detroit–Windsor area. The $825 million complex incorporates the historic Wagner Baking Company building designed c.1915 by architect Walter W. Ahlschlager, who went on to design the...
- MGM Grand DetroitMGM Grand DetroitThe MGM Grand Detroit in Detroit, Michigan is one of three casino resort hotels in the city, and one of four in the Detroit–Windsor area. The luxury resort hotel opened on October 3, 2007 with a grand event which included models and celebrities including Ashanti, Kid Rock, male model Cameron...