Derby City Gaming celebrates opening of brand new hotel

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Derby City Gaming celebrated the opening of its first hotel on Poplar Level Road Thursday evening.

Attached to the Derby Gaming City, the hotel features 123 rooms, including 14 corner suites and a VIP suite. Also part of the 135,000-sqaure-foot expansion includes hundreds of new historical horse racing machines, as well as a bourbon bar and steakhouse.

"It is themed after probably the greatest, the greatest sporting event in history, the Kentucky Derby," Garth Williams, general manager for Derby City Gaming and Hotel, said.

The lobby is decorated with rose and lily decorations, and pictures of the twin spires as jockeys celebrate hang on the walls.

Interested parties can begin booking rooms at the hotel as early as June 12, 2023.

Williams said the odds are good that people will enjoy a stay at the Derby City Gaming Hotel, and stakes are never too high with a new steakhouse, and all bets are off once you hit the bourbon bar.

Kentucky Senate President, Robert Stivers celebrated the grand opening along with Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg and other city leaders.

Stivers acknowledged the economic impact it will have, by expanding facilities for historic horse racing and legalizing sports betting.

"We tried to do what we could do from a legislative standpoint to create that economic dynamic with the use and production of facilities that would allow historic horse racing, furthering that with sports wagering, but maybe most important overall, creating a tax code and business regulatory system that is conducive to creating good paying jobs," Stivers said.

Derby City Gaming will see some of the first implementations of sports betting as it rolls out in Kentucky. A sports book for betting on professional sports will be attached to the gaming floor once state regulations are finalized.

"We're also going to have sports betting kiosks around the property in places that make sense," Williams said.

As for the Derby City Gaming facility being built in downtown Louisville at 4th and Market Streets, Williams expects it to open late October 2023.