Jacks casino wikipedia

Sports bar mixes in electronic game tables Features are only at Cleveland's gambling venue

Rock Gaming LLC launched a new corporate brand Tuesday for its Ohio casinos and racino. Meet JACK, as in JACK Entertainment LLC. The new name reflects a new company, one without connections to Caesars Entertainment Corp.

(Gus Chan, The Plain Dealer)

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Meet JACK, the new name for Cleveland's downtown Horseshoe Casino.

The new name reflects a new company, without connections to Caesars Entertainment Corp. New names are coming also for ThistleDown Racino and Horseshoe Cincinnati.

Here's what you need to know about the $40 million makeover and rebranding of Horseshoe Cleveland.

Why JACK?

Corporate leaders launched the new brand with a video that asks people to remember an old friend who can get them out of their comfort zone and find fun.

JACK is meant to capture that feeling, said Darlene Monzo, JACK Entertainment's chief marketing officer. "What is Jack? Jack is an attitude. It's a way of thinking. It's our company's inner spirit."

In choosing it the company sought to find something that would both ring familiar with people while still being different.

"JACK is a place, it's an attitude, it's a perspective and it's a persona," said Mark Dunkeson, JACK Entertainment's president and chief operating officer. "Through innovation, excellence and service and loving our team members and loving our guests, we believe our future is very bright."

When will we see changes?

New signage should go up shortly, Dunkeson said. That will be perhaps the most visible change.

First up will be ThistleDown Racino, which will become JACK ThistleDown Racino March 9. A $70 million renovation is expected to be completed there in early April.

Horseshoe Cleveland will become JACK Cleveland Casino in early May. Horseshoe Cincinnati, the company's other Ohio casino, will become JACK Cincinnati Casino in June.

JACK Entertainment's other properties also will be renamed, including the Greektown Casino Hotel in downtown Detroit, which eventually will become JACK Detroit Casino Hotel Greektown.

What will change in Cleveland?

Over time, Dunkeson said, there will be incremental changes in the Cleveland casino.

State-of-the-art technology and slot products to heighten the gaming experience will be added gradually, he said. Other changes will include swapping out of chips and cards so that they carry new logos.

What about a rewards program?

JACK Entertainment will introduce its own four-level rewards program that will allow players to accumulate points toward comps and free play. The levels, each with rewards slightly higher than the previous grade, drew their names based on the company name:

J - Just getting warmed up.

A - All in and then some.

C - Center of attention.

K - Kings live like this.

The rewards program will replace Caesars' Total Rewards program, which let customers earn discounts and other incentives at more than 40 resorts and casinos around the world.

That program's 40 million members include 80, who lived within 50 miles of the Cleveland casino when it opened in May

Will this lead to the long-talked-about Phase 2 of casino construction on Huron Road?

JACK Entertainment CEO Matt Cullen said the company still intends to pursue some sort of mixed-use development for that site. Originally the company had planned to build a new casino south of Huron Road and move to it from the Higbee Building.

"We're really committed to the city of Cleveland. We're really focused on continuing to invest in the city," Cullen said. "At this point our sense is that the gaming market in Northeast Ohio doesn't support additional capacity."