Harrah's to Buy, Reopen Binion's Horseshoe

It appears that there is hope for Binion's Horseshoe, the casino in downtown Las Vegas that has been the home of the World Series of Poker. Adam Goldman reports via AP that:

Harrah's Entertainment has signed an agreement to buy the financially strapped Binion's Horseshoe hotel-casino, two days after the legendary downtown property shut down and federal agents seized money to pay for unpaid employee benefits, a Harrah's spokesman said Monday.

Harrah's spokesman Gary Thompson declined to say how much the deal was worth, but said his company agreed to assume all the landmark property's liabilities. The deal includes the rights to the lucrative World Series of Poker tournament and the casino's legendary name in Nevada. Thompson couldn't say when the deal would be completed.

The purchase must be approved by the Nevada Gaming Commission.

This is an interesting development. Harrah's Entertainment is in my opinion the single best-positioned operator of gambling casinos in the United States, with solid positions in the gambling centers of Reno, Las Vegas, and Atlantic City, as well as the Mississipi riverboat and Gulf Coast markets. In addition, Harrah's manages a number of Indian casinos.

The Horseshoe would be Harrah's first entry on Fremont Street, a difficult niche in the casino market in which to prosper. But other casinos do prosper there, notably Boyd Gaming properties such as the Fremont, the California, and Main Street Station.

What will Harrah's do with the 'Shoe? I imagine that they will continue to develop and promote the World Series of Poker; but will they try to preserve the casino's dilapidated Old West charm? Or will they try to make it over into a more modern casino?

My own take on other Harrah's properties is that very little sets them apart from other casinos. The Harrah's casino experience is very much a generic one. What I call the Horseshoe's "dilapidated Old West charm" is what sets it apart from other casinos and gambling halls. Without it's cachet as the place "where legends are made and millions are paid" the place would be scarcely a cut above the El Cortez, down the street. But if Harrah's cleans up the dinge and makes the place a copy of its other properties, it could discover that it has cleaned up its identity, its branding power, as well. Why would a gambler choose Harrah's over the Four Queens or the Golden Nugget?

Some poker players, like the one who runs Love and Casino War, are concerned about Harrah's past experience with casino poker, notably the fiasco of the Carnivale of Poker in 2000. I'm not so worried. The World Series of Poker is a strong franchise, and it is managed by a strong team led by Matt Savage. Personally, I'm hoping that this year's WSOP will be the best one yet.