Members of the Indiana Gaming Commission seemed a bit perplexed about the name change of Indiana Grand Racing & Casino to Horseshoe Indianapolis (the fourth top-line name change in its two decades of operation: Indiana Downs, Indiana Live!, Indiana Grand – and then Indiana Grand Racing & Casino, and now Horseshoe Indianapolis). “Seems a little strange to me,” said Commissioner Susan Williams, given that the property was not in Indianapolis. Dan Nita, a Caesars Entertainment, Inc. regional corporate executive explains that the name change was intended to help attract convention business to the metro area, and then to suggest to visitors to Indianapolis that the casino was not some distant destination. Officials in Shelby County were “understanding of the change,” but under questioning, Nita acknowledges that there was no communication “directly with the City of Indianapolis” about the name change, which officially took place on December 21, 2021. When asked by Commissioner Jason Dudich of Indianapolis whether the property might consider another name change should a casino ultimately be awarded to Indianapolis, Nita, who formerly led Horseshoe Casino Hammond (with a panoramic view of downtown Chicago) allowed that this “might be something to consider.”
