We began a 3 part series Tuesday on casinos in Ohio.
What didn't happen in Lima or Botkins a few years back is happening now in Toledo, Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland.
Hundreds of millions of dollars being invested, thousands of jobs being created.
In part one, we go one hour north on I-75 to Toledo to get a sneak peek at the Hollywood Casino.
That is a sound that will soon be heard in 4 major cities in Ohio. After a long battle, Ohioans voted in 2009 to bring casino gambling to Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus... and here in Toledo. Penn National Gaming owns and will operate the casinos in Toledo and Columbus. Another group has the Cleveland and Cincinnati sites. The head of the Casino Control Commission, which has put hundreds of regulations in place for the casinos to follow is ready for the fun to begin.
Toledo being closest in proximity to the Lima area, what can casino-goers expect. We visited the Toledo site as the final phase of construction was taking place. Management says they will be ready for a March 15th move-in date. The casino Commission said last week the Cleveland site could open in mid-May followed a couple weeks later by the Toledo casino.
Both trying to open prior to Memorial Day weekend.
Toledo has a Hollywood 1930's retro look, as will Columbus, dubbed as a visit to Vegas without leaving Northwest Ohio..
You get some sense of what the Toledo site will look like, but we wanted to show a Penn Gaming finished product. Toledo will be similar to a new casino just opened earlier this month in Kansas at the Kansas Motor Speedway. Of course Toledo doesn't have a NASCAR track next door, but the casino itself offers many of the same idea's from architecture to food and of course gambling. Officials say they know what they have to do because there's competition all around them and they expect a great experience for visitors.
