Derby City Gaming making progress on $76 million expansion, upgrades

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The sound of saws competes with the sound of machines at Derby City Gaming these days as crews continue work on an 135,000 square foot expansion less than five years from the facility's grand opening.

The complex between Preston Highway and Poplar Level Road is growing up and out with the addition of a new five-story hotel.

Logan Spradlin, marketing operations supervisor at Derby City Gaming, said the hotel will have 123 rooms, 14 corner suites and a presidential suite that comes with in-house simulcast racing capabilities. It will create more than 60 permanent jobs once the hotel is open.

"It's just a really important time for us to grow as an entertainment venue ...," he said.

Aside from the hotel, Derby City Gaming is betting on its continued success by knocking down walls expanding the gaming floor and adding a new staging area with video screens. Across the room will be a two-story wall of bourbon and drinks for guests to enjoy.

If you want to press your luck even more, there will be a high-limit gaming area that is expected to open by the end of the year. And if you’re hungry, a third restaurant is in the works. Oliver’s Chophouse and Bourbon Bar will feature steaks and seafood.

It's all expected to open by May, and if all of that wasn't enough, the construction continues in downtown Louisville, where Derby City Gaming's new facility is taking shape at 4th and Market streets. It will feature two new restaurants and is scheduled to be open sometime in September 2023.

"Now it's planned for 500 machines," Spradlin said. "It will be a smaller property, but, again, the big focus is on that transient business being right corner next to the Kentucky International Convention Center."

In total, the project will cost about $76 million.

Related Stories: