Cleveland Horseshoe Casino to open first on May 14

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ohio Casino Commission Control board announced the opening date of Cleveland’s new Horseshoe Casino Wednesday afternoon.

The Cleveland Horseshoe Casino is now slated to open on Monday, May 14.

NewChannel5's John Kosich was at the meeting and spoke with Horseshoe Casino General Manager Marcus Glover on his reaction to the announcement of the May 14 opening date.

"I think everyone is excited to get some determination one way or another. We’re glad to hear May 14. Obviously, we’ll be ready. Our employees will be ready and our dealers will be ready," said Glover. "What we're really excited for is the great city of Cleveland to bring them this attraction. We believe it will be a big boost for the economy and put a lot of people to work, so we’re excited."

At a meeting two weeks ago, the board announced the Cleveland casino and the Toledo casino would open two weeks apart from each other, pushing the Toledo opening date at May 29.

The dates were set early in the meeting, but commissioners were reluctant to say who would go first--Cleveland or Toledo.

A coin toss was suggested, but later nixed as the casino chair urged commissioners that a decision on who goes first should be made Wednesday.

Cleveland Horseshoe General Manager Marcus Glover opened the meeting with an update for the board on the progress of the Cleveland site. Glover said the carpet is done on the main gaming floor and that the rest of the carpet will be in place next week.

He mentioned that work on the casino’s garage is also progressing on schedule after the partial collapse in December.

Glover also mentioned that dealer training is ongoing at Thistledown. He said they started with approximately 650 people (200 of which they’ve since lost, which Glover said is not unusual as some people receive employment elsewhere or decide they are no longer interested). Glover said they are in the process of hiring additional dealers whom he expects will be trained in time for the casino’s open.

Earlier this month, gaming consultant Spectrum Gaming recommended the state delay the opening of two Ohio casinos this year because there would not be adequate time to investigate the facilities for licensing before planned openings. Spectrum had recommended holding off opening until June, but the control commission was adament that they did need to wait quite that long.

The Cleveland casino was originally slated to open March 26 and the Toledo casino April 1.