Hollywood Casino, health department respond to mice video
8/11/2017
Hollywood Toledo
THE BLADE
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Hollywood Casino Toledo has taken steps to ensure a sanitary environment after a viral Facebook video earlier this week showed mice inside a bar area.
The video was posted by a casino patron about 3 a.m. Wednesday, and at least two mice can be seen crawling on plastic crates next to a sink. The Toledo-Lucas County Health Department was notified of the issue Thursday morning by the casino.
Health department spokesman Eric Zgodzinski said the casino contacted the department.
“We sent an inspector out there to do a walk-through and talk to people to see what’s happening,” he said. “The video is there, so we know there were mice there at one point in time. We didn’t see any indication of mice droppings or anything of that nature, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t there.”
The video had 25,000 views as of Friday afternoon.
The casino had an extermination crew on scene at 6 a.m. Thursday to examine all food and beverage areas, according to Penn National Gaming spokesman Bob Tenenbaum. Casino employees were made aware of the situation Thursday.
“Hollywood Casino is deeply committed to providing a safe and sanitary environment for our customers and our team members,” Hollywood Casino Toledo said in a statement to The Blade. “Upon learning of this situation, we took immediate steps to rectify it. We are taking all steps necessary to ensure something like this does not happen again. We sincerely apologize for any discomfort or distress this incident may have caused any of our guests or employees.”
Mr. Zgodzinski said the casino has been cooperative and has a good reputation for cleanliness. The health department will increase visits and “probably follow up a couple times next week,” according to Mr. Zgodzinski.
He said customers should not be dissuaded from eating or drinking at the venue.
“If I had time this weekend, I would go down there and eat and not have a problem with it,” Mr. Zgodzinski said. “This happens. It’s easy for [mice] to get in there. It doesn’t take much of a hole for them to come in or be on a produce shipment.
“As long as they’re compliant, they should be able to handle it pretty quickly.”
Contact Jay Skebba at jskebba@theblade.com, 419-376-9414 or on Twitter @JaySkebbaBlade.