Cross Light Wraps Up 2009 with Three Casinos, Performing Arts Center
This year was quite a busy one for Cross Light, completing three new casinos and the renovation of a major performing arts center in Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky.
Blue Chip Casino in Michigan City, Indiana recently opened a new Hotel and Spa. Cross Light worked with consultants The Ruzika Company and contractor Martell Electric to provide ETC dimming, control, and programming of the new Sports bar and lounge, as well as the concert stage in the restaurant and small gift shop. The system includes multiple rooms of Unison architectural control with a portable LCD for programming and a Pharos controller for the colored LED lighting in the sports bar ceiling.
Indiana Live! Casino opened this year in Shelbyville, Indiana, outside of Indianapolis. This 200,000 square foot facility is a feature of the existing Indiana Downs racetrack. Featuring all manner of electronic gaming, the facility also hosts nearly 900 ETC dimmers and 1024 channels of LED control designed by the Ruzika Company and installed by Indianapolis Electric. The controls are distributed throughout the facility, networking nine dimmer racks and three control processors across five electrical rooms. Aside from the gaming floors, the two restaurants and multiple lounges have local preset control in addition to the Unison astronomical timeclock automatic day and night presets. Cross Light also provided Pharos programming assistance for the LED light shows that occur automatically throughout the day and night, and even selected holiday lighting!
Hollywood Casino in Lawrenceburg, Indiana (outside of Cincinnati) completed a new vessel late this year, with a lower level poker room suitable for the World Poker Tour in addition to the main gaming floor. That floor includes the performance stage, complete with moving lights driven by an ETC lighting console in addition to the thirteen dimmer racks and architectural control system which power the entire vessel. The food and restroom annex, as well as the connector bridge to landside are also driven by smaller ETC architectural systems, linked to the operation of the vessel through contact closures. The vessel system includes many redundant features, including multiple networked Paradigm processors in the highly unlikely event of hardware failure. This new Hollywood facility is part of a larger work of many ETC systems, which include the walkway from the new parking garage and the landside entry pavilion. Lighting Design Alliance specified the project, installed by Mayers Electric.
The renovation of the dimming and control systems for each of the three venues in the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts was completed in a tight two-month time frame this summer. Working closely with the end user, the manufacturer ETC, the dealer/integrator On Location Lighting Systems and the local electrical contractor Ready Electric, Cross Light helped renovate three spaces to full ETC dimming, network, console and fixtures. We provided drawing assistance to the owner and electrical engineer Kerr-Greulich, as well as technical expertise with regard to specific hardware. In the end, twenty-two existing dimmer racks were replaced with new Sensor+ AF racks, DMX distribution upgraded to ETCNet3 Gateways, and theatrical control replaced with ETC EOS, ION, and Element consoles. The architectural control was also replaced with the new Unison Paradigm, to bring the entire facility under one manufacturer for the first time since its original construction.
As with every project, Cross Light strives to be the conduit for effective communication between all parties involved. Our unique knowledge and relationships help us specialize in the entertainment-style world of lighting that is continually becoming more prevalent in the architectural community, and we look forward to continuing strong into 2010 and beyond.
