Construction Right On Schedule For Baltimore City's First Casino
BALTIMORE (WJZ)--Casino construction is underway. Drive down Russell Street now and you can see the beginning of what's soon to be Baltimore City's first casino.
Monique Griego got a behind-the-scenes look at this $440 million project.
Construction on the Horseshoe Casino has been going on for six months, but within the past six weeks, things have really picked up. The steel beams are up and the cranes are working overtime.
It started as a dirt lot in downtown, but in just six months, construction crews have turned the empty space between Russell and Warner streets into the beginning of the $440 million Horseshoe Casino.
"I think people can see the reality. With all the talk that's going on and the renderings that have gone out, you can see the real look of the casino starting to develop," said Chad Barnhill, Caesars Entertainment.
"This is part of the job that progresses pretty quickly," said Greg Combs.
Wednesday, the project manager for Caesars Entertainment gave WJZ a tour of the project's progress.
The steel beams are up, as well as much of the concrete for what will be a two-story casino with a 122,000 square foot gaming floor.
"One hundred table games, 2,500 slot machines, a 25 table poker room," Barnhill said.
But the casino is really just the hub of what Caesars says will be an entertainment district with shopping, bars and restaurants.
Crews are already working on the seven-story garage and skywalk, which will cross over Warner Street to one of the casino's main entrances.
In all, the project is providing 2,000 construction jobs and 1,700 permanent positions once open.
"That's just continued money coming into the city and continued jobs available," Barnhill said.
The project manager says so far they haven't hit any snags and everything is on schedule. The casino should open in late 2014.
Once open, Horseshoe will be the second largest casino in Maryland.
