Recently, we took a trip to Horseshoe Southern Indiana, a Harrah’s-owned property located across the Ohio River from Louisville, Kentucky. The four-story riverboat offers exciting Omaha, Stud, and Hold’em games around the clock and made for a memorable visit. Let’s check out several pros and cons of the property.
First, there’s a reason that Horseshoe Southern Indiana isn’t called Horseshoe Louisville: it’s located about 25 minutes west of downtown across the Interstate 64 Ohio River Bridge. Then, you’re dumped off in New Albany, Indiana and faced with a 10-mile drive down a precarious 55 mile per hour two-lane road. We even were stopped by a freight train during the twilight hours of the morning on the way home, adding even more time on to our journey. The drive isn’t unbearable, but just allow plenty of time to get there.
The overall level of play was pretty solid. I can remember visiting this casino about three years ago and witnessing utterly horrendous poker play. Gone are the days of having to remind players how much the big blind is or what the minimum amount they can raise is in Limit games. Instead, players are extremely versed in poker. That said, soft spots in cash games were abundant.
Horseshoe Southern Indiana hosts an annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit Event, the Mid-America Poker Classic, Midwest Regional Poker Championships, and plenty of daily tournaments. Cash games include Hold’em, Omaha, and Stud at all levels and I never encountered a wait when I wanted to play. You’ll find a lot of locals from Louisville, Lexington, and Nashville competing on Horseshoe’s felts.
The chairs are pretty uncomfortable. Even the dealers were complaining about the lack of nice chairs like you’d find at other Harrah’s properties. However, chandeliers hanging over the poker room, which is located on the first deck, made the atmosphere seem more like Las Vegas than mid-America. The poker chips have black numbers printed on the side denoting their value and the tables seemed to be in good condition.
I managed to flop quads in one hand, something I had never done in a live cash game before, but was disappointed to see that no high hand promotion exists. However, a Bad Beat Jackpot is advertised and sits at nearly $90,000 at the time of writing. I had A-3 of hearts, called pre-flop, and was quite elated to see the flop came all bullets. I only got one biter, but it was still quite a memorable hand.
There are no free alcoholic beverages in Indiana riverboat casinos. Instead, domestic bottles will run you about $4. There’s an “All In Deli” at the rear of the poker room for you to grab a bite to eat. It was closed on Sunday afternoon when I played, but had been open the night before. You can sip all-you-can-drink soft drinks from a fountain dispenser located to the left of the deli.
The poker room’s cage is in the front of the facility and doubles as the cage for all of the first level of the boat. Bathrooms are located in the rear and were well maintained, although I’d expect nothing less from a Harrah’s resort. One of the only downsides to Horseshoe Southern Indiana, besides the long drive from Louisville, is that the casino is located about a half-mile from the parking garage. While this may be a godsend for players needing some exercise, I was not in the mood for a walk.
The hotel is located even further from the casino than the garage, although moving walkways connect the two. The main pavilion will soon feature a Paula Deen buffet. It was under construction when I visited, limiting the food options available.
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