In today's local paper (NWI.com) they have announced that Bette Midler will be the opening act on Aug 8 for the gala opening of their new entertainment facility. Tickets go on sale this Friday.

I don't know if this is when the new boat opens or not. They list future acts: Smashing Pumpkins,Billy Idol,Liza Minnelli, Lynard Sknard and Kenny Rogers.

Supposedly, no tickets will be over $100.00.

I'm sure Tim will be more informed.


Ellen

I assume the "Entertainment Facility" will be on terra firma? What about hotel(s), restaurants?

Are you going to see Bette? Are you waiting for the Tim discount?

There is a little bit of competition going on in the entertainment at the northwest Indiana casinos. Resorts has sold their boat in East Chicago to Ameristar. Ameristar has announced a free concert series for late summer and fall. The only one I remember is Lionel Richie but there were several others. Given the much bigger casino, Harrahs has to attract some additional clientèle.
Harrahs is the only local operation without a hotel. The Majestic Star in Gary has the former Trump Hotel (they also have Fitzgerald's downtown). The Blue Chip (Boyd Group) in Michigan City has a hotel and convention center under construction. The Four Winds (Indian owned) was constructed with a hotel. It is out in the woods so they call themselves a resort.
The restaurants in East Chicago, Gary and Michigan City are undistinguished. OK buffets, nothing special. Harrahs has Binions Steakhouse which is pretty good. Four Winds has the Copperrock Steakhouse which also is good.
Harrahs has the advantage of being closer to Chicago than any of the others.
All of them just dodged a bullet when the Illinois legislature refused to go along with a plan for a big gambling expansion including a casino in Chicago.

Eric

I was working the day the Bette Midler tickets went on sale. I was about an hour late getting to the Ticketmaster website and the show was already sold out. I guess I'll have to see her in Vegas now!

JMT:

Unfortunately, there does not seem to be a "Tim Discount" for the Venue. Employees are able to purchase tickets to a concert no earlier than 1 week before the event. We never had a chance at seeing either Bette on 8/8 or Smashing Pumpkins on 8/9, since both have completely sold-out well before the 1 week window.

I still have a shot, though, at being able to see Hong Kong Cantopop sensations Andy Hui and William So, also on 8/8. Their show begins at 12:01 a.m. on 8/8/08. When Horseshoe said they were pursuing the local Asian demographic, they weren't kidding.

Here's the calendar, as far as I know:
8/10 Mo'Nique
8/11 James Blunt
8/14 Stone Temple Pilots
8/15 Lynyrd Skynyrd
8/16 Billy Idol
8/19 Alice Cooper
8/20 Michael Bolton
8/21 Kem (he's an R&B singer)
8/22 Jay Leno (!)
8/23 Paul Anka
8/29 Sarah Silverman
8/30 Liza Minelli (!!)
9/05 Chris Botti
9/07 RNR (Rick Braun and Richard Elliot, a "smooth jazz" group)
10/04 Kenny Rogers

That's a pretty stellar line-up for NW Indiana.

Cheers,

Tim the Dealer

At our pre-opening rally on Monday night (July 28), they officially announced Alicia Keys for the Venue on September 13th.

Cheers,

Tim the Dealer