After the recent temporary closure of Caesars Windsor Casino in connection to the contract signing with the casino workers’ union, and the recent statement given by a gaming consultancy expert, Caesars Entertainment Las Vegas Head Office has deemed it best to issue an official statement that it remains committed in giving support to its Windsor-based casino, despite the continuous decline of the latter’s revenues.
Caesars Windsor’s Problems The growing competition coming from Detroit casinos, namely Greektown, MotorCity and MGM Grand, coupled with the tightened restriction in crossing the Canada-U.S. border and the implementation of Ontario’s no-smoking legislation, are said to be the main reasons why Caesars Windsor’s revenue has plummeted to as much as 60 percent during the past decade. An article in the Detroit News last Thursday, carried a statement given by Alex Calderone, the SVP of Fine Point Group, a gaming management and consultancy company based in Las Vegas.
Calderone expressed his views about Caesars Windsor and the three Detroit casinos; he was quoted as saying ““In my mind, the property in Windsor would be the most likely candidate for an eventual closure,” which was in reference to Caesars Windsor’s diminishing share of the gambling market pie in the area. Caesars Entertainment’s Commitment to Caesars Windsor Gary Thompson, the official Corporate Spokesperson of Caesars Entertainment, stated that except for plans of expanding the offerings in the Windsor affiliate’s non-gaming arena, he knows of no other changes that will take place at Caesars Windsor.
Thompson disclosed that the Las Vegas office, “recently invested a substantial amount of money on the property.” He added that another indication of Caesars’ support to its Windsor casino is the fact that about 73.5 percent of Caesars Windsor workers voted in favor of the four-year agreement between the worker’s union and Caesars Entertainment. The Caesars spokesperson further explained that growing competition is not something, which Caesars and even other casino firms have not experienced before; and that the effects of expansions in the gaming business are not new to the company either. Yet the company sees not only the gaming aspect but also the non-gaming offerings of Caesars Windsor, as they intend to focus on working on the amenities that are most popular to its patrons.
Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) spokesperson, Tony Bitonti commented that every casino in Ontario’s border towns has been facing significant challenges during the past 10 to 15 years. He believes Caesars has been looking into the problems that beset its Windsor casino; and that the latter has identified the specific niche that would give Caesars Windsor an edge over the casinos in the Detroit area. Although Caesars’ Windsor affiliate posted a decline of less than 10,000 casino customers per day at the end of 2012, from a previous figure of 12,000 recorded in 2008, its non-gaming entertainment sector has been filling 5,000 seats on a weekly basis. Caesars Windsor Spokeswoman Jhoan Baluyot maintains that they continue to be competitive not only in terms of headline entertainment but also with the level of service, which customers consider as amenities that they do not get in Detroit.
