Casino Windsor has transformed into Caesars Windsor, hoping the Roman Empire makeover will help lure gamblers across the Detroit River.
Last week’s switch from Casino Windsor to Caesars Windsor caps the completion of about five years’ worth of renovation work that expanded the casino’s gaming floor, and added a tower with 369 new guest rooms (bringing the complex's total to 758) and a 5,000-seat entertainment stage.
A grand opening June 18 featured a concert from rock legend Billy Joel..
A combination of events -- the opening of Detroit's three casinos in 1999-2000, border hassles following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, a Ontario-wide ban on indoor smoking that took effect in the summer of 2006 and the recent decline of the U.S. dollar -- has slowly eroded the Windsor casino's mostly Metro Detroit customer base, according to a report in the Detroit News.
Last year, the casino commanded just 19.3 percent of the area's gaming revenues, compared with 31 percent at MGM Grand, 29 percent at MotorCity and 20.7 percent at Greektown, which has filed for bankruptcy. Just three years ago, Casino Windsor had 34 percent of the market, according to 2007 revenues reported by the Michigan Gaming Control Board and the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, the quasi-governmental agency that owns the Canadian facility.
