COLUMBUS, Ohio --The Horseshoe Casino Cincinnati has been cleared to open March 4 and will serve as a model for what an urban casino can be, a spokesman for the developers said Wednesday.

The Ohio Casino Control Commission voted Wednesday to grant licenses for the casino, the fourth and final one allowed under the Ohio Constitution. All that remains now is successful completion of a state-supervised eight-hour test run on Feb. 27.

Rock Ohio Caesars, a joint venture led by Cavaliers majority owner Dan Gilbert, developed both the Cincinnati casino and the Horseshoe that opened May 14 in Cleveland. The group also owns the Thistledown thoroughbred track, which is to unveil video lottery terminals, machines that look and act like slot machines, in April.

The restoration of the Cleveland Horseshoe building, formerly the historic Higbee department store, has drawn praise. But in Cincinnati, where construction was new, the developers were able to create a "showcase" for urban casinos, Matt Cullen, president and chief operating officer of Gilbert's Rock Gaming, told the commission.

Cullen later emphasized in an interview that an expansion of the Cleveland casino remains in Rock Ohio Caesars' plans and will provide a similar opportunity.

Rock Ohio has no timetable for the second phase of the casino, which would overlook the Cuyahoga River and be linked to the former Higbee store through the mall at Tower City Center. But the developers have purchased the property for $85 million.

Cullen said that Rock Ohio also hopes to work with the city and Forest City Enterprises, owner of Tower City Center and the Higbee building, to transform the mall, Public Square and the Gateway area.

The Cincinnati Horseshoe was built on a parking lot at the edge of downtown. The two-story, 400,000-square-foot casino, cost $400 million.

The casino will feature direct restaurant access from the street and a one-acre outdoor plaza that will be used for concerts and other events. Shuttle service will bring patrons to the Cincinnati Horseshoe from seven downtown hotels.

"We will sell Cincinnati, and we will sell what makes Cincinnati unique and special," General Manager Kevin Kline said.

Though the regulators granted the licenses they raised questions about the shaky financial condition of the two Horseshoes' management company, Caesars Entertainment. Similar concerns surfaced before the Cleveland opening.

The Spectrum Gaming Group, a New Jersey consulting firm, recommended approving the licenses while continuing to review Caesars' finances every year. Spectrum Vice President Steven Ingis cited "serious concerns regarding Caesars' high debt level."

Caesars, which owns a 20 percent stake in the two casinos, is carrying an unusually large amount of debt -- more than $20.9 billion as of Sept. 30 -- and, by its own admission, is having trouble making payments of nearly $2 billion a year.

Managing casinos, rather than serving as majority owner, is a new, low-risk strategy for the company. Experts have said Caesars almost certainly would continue to manage the two Ohio casinos, even if it filed for bankruptcy.

Cullen said Rock Gaming is poised to take over the casinos if necessary. But he said it is unlikely that Caesars will have to pull out; in fact, he said Rock Gaming and Caesars are pursuing other projects with Caesars outside Ohio.

The Cincinnati Horseshoe will round out of a set of casinos that also includes Penn National Gaming properties in Toledo and Columbus. The four casinos, approved by voters in 2009, have all opened within the last year.