Ground is broken for new Toledo casino

8/12/2010
BLADE STAFF

Toledo Mayor Mike Bell and Lucas County Commissioner Pete Gerken joined Tim Wilmott, president and chief executive officer of Penn National Gaming, Inc., for the ground-breaking ceremony at the former industrial site along Miami Street just off I-75.

Mr. Wilmott said the new casino should be open in less than two years.

"The jobs and business opportunities we'll be creating here, the tax revenues that will begin flowing, and the boost the facility will bring to the tourism, hospitality, and retail industries in greater Toledo will have a long-lasting, beneficial impact on this community and this region," Mr. Wilmott said in a statement.

The casino, which will be decorated in 1930s Art Deco Hollywood, will feature some 2,000 slot machines, 60 table games, a poker room with 20 tables, an entertainment lounge, and an Epic Buffet, among other food and beverage services.

Hollywood Casino Toledo is the first of four casinos planned in Ohio after voters in the state approved a constitutional amendment in November, 2009, to authorize casinos in Toledo, Columbus, Cincinnati, and Cleveland.

During the Thursday morning event, Mr. Wilmott presented Mayor Bell with a check for slightly more than $1 million as reimbursement for improvements the city made to the land where the casino will be built.