Bally’s Is Officially Horseshoe Las Vegas, Mostly

By Scott Roeben, on December 20 2022
3 min read 16 comments
Las Vegas Las Vegas Hotels

During your most recent Las Vegas visit, there was a Bally’s. Now, not so much.

Bally’s is now officially Horseshoe Las Vegas.

The official transition from Bally’s to Horseshoe was Dec. 15, 2022.

Horseshoes have long been considered lucky. Fun fact: Early horseshoes had seven holes for the nails that affix the shoe to the hoof. That’s a lucky number, at least on the come out roll.

The hotel rebrand has been in the works for some time, and while the resort is Horseshoe, there’s still a lot of Bally’s left.

Things like the hotel reservation system have flipped the switch, and Horseshoe has rolled out its new casino chips.

Your underwhelm is noted. We blame it on rigid brand standards.

Much of the signage around the resort has been updated, but a number of Bally’s signs are still in place. This one’s near the slushy place in the walkway between Paris and Horseshoe.

Most of the signs have been swapped out, but there are some stragglers.

The casino’s carpeting now reflects the Horseshoe brand.

A little on-the-nose, but if you’re fall-down drunk, you’ll still know where you are.

The TITO vouchers in the casino now say Horseshoe, of course.

Kiosks still don’t give change, but TITO tickets (rather than receipts) are an improvement. Read more.

The exterior of Bally’s no longer has Bally’s on it, but the Horseshoe signage hasn’t been installed yet.

While Bally’s is officially Horseshoe, we aren’t quite there psychologically because the marquee isn’t done. When that’s upgraded, then it’s official-official.

Thanks a lot, supply chain disruptions.

The changes inside Horseshoe aren’t dramatic.

Guests will see the table felt still being replaced, for example.

All your favorite Bally’s things are still there.

Unless you consider Burger Brasserie a Bally’s thing. (It sits between Bally’s and Paris.) It’s closed for a renovation. Yes, we opened the door slightly to peek inside. It was unlocked, that’s on Horseshoe.

Guy Fieri’s new place is going to be a minute.

As we’ve reported previously, there’s a new poker room at Horseshoe, but other than that, they’re largely just sprucing up the place.

Caesars Entertainment, owner of Horseshoe, is playing up the history of the brand in its marketing. Specifically, the history of Horseshoe being gambler-friendly. It’s a bit of a weird flex (Caesars, then Harrah’s, just bought the brand when it acquired Binion’s Horseshoe), but we have evidence there’s some basis to their claims.

We never won a dollar playing at Bally’s, but won $850 on Top Dollar the minute the place became Horseshoe. Coincidence?

We suggest trying an uncomfortable denomination sometimes. This is why.

The rebrand of Bally’s to Horseshoe is going to take some getting used to.

We interact with thousands of Las Vegas visitors, and none seem particularly broken up about the loss of the Bally’s brand. Compare it to, say, Mirage, and the difference is dramatic.

Still, Bally’s had its fans, and it is woven into the fabric of Las Vegas history and lore.

We would share some of that history and lore, but that would require “research” and “effort,” so get to Googling.

Horseshoes are supposed to ward off evil spirits, like witches, goblins and the I.R.S.

Mostly, we remember doing the social marketing for Bally’s for a couple of years. The biggest selling points were the mid-Strip location, “Jubilee” and the Sterling Brunch buffet.

Bally’s never really felt like it had a distinctive personality, but it reliably delivered the most important Las Vegas things: Gambling and liquor. And possibly prostitutes. But mostly those first two things.

That will continue with Horseshoe, and there are lots of new things in the works that could make the resort stand out a bit, especially if there’s a genuine effort to make the place gambler-friendly and if the old-timey Horseshoe vibe can be conveyed by front line staff.

If not, it’s always good to see improvements and a refresh of Bally’s was overdue.

Caesars Entertainment has an opportunity to up the ante with Horseshoe. Giddyup.