With new date set for opening, people and businesses think Horseshoe Casino Cleveland hits jackpot

CLEVELAND - People and businesses are mostly excited about the Horseshoe Casino opening in Cleveland before Toledo, but some still have lingering concerns.

The Ohio Casino Commission announced Wednesday morning that Cleveland's Horseshoe Casino would open on May 14, ahead of Toledo's.

One downtown Cleveland restaurant, Sushi 86, located on Prospect Avenue a few blocks from the casino site, could see a big boom in business.

“I think it’s great. I think it’ll help all businesses downtown, bring more people downtown,” said Rachel Shu, who’s worked at Sushi 86 for 12 years.

One customer there wasn't personally excited for the casino opening, but agreed it could help stimulate the economy.

“I will probably deliver to them – I’m a bicycle messenger – so it’ll increase business to us, as well as the restaurant here, so it’s great,” said Jay Karpinski.

Eddie Rodriguez is from Miami visiting Cleveland. He thinks the addition of a casino would give him and his wife a reason to come back.

“I think it would be a tourist attraction, sure. I think I would come back and see. I’m thinking of bringing my wife up here to see Cleveland, looks nice. I’ll come back.”

Another man who recently moved to northeast Ohio sees the needs for an attraction like the casino.

“I’ve been here since January 9, and from what I see around Cleveland, it’ll bring some business here. It needs to bring a volume of people back. I think the city’s really down right now, as for the volume of people, so it’ll really help out,” said Desi Arnaz Williams.

But other people are worried the casino could be tarnished by outside interests or attract crime.

“It has the potential to bring a lot of jobs, a lot of money. I just hope the money stays here, doesn’t get shuffled around,” said Dan Griffith. “At the same time, I hope it creates a boom in tourism and rejuvenates the neighborhood a little bit, but doesn’t bring the kind of trash and problems that this kind of thing does.”

The Downtown Cleveland Alliance is in full support of the casino and vice president for business development Michael Deemer sees dollar signs in Cleveland’s future.

“We’re real excited that the casino is opening May 14, that it’s going to be the first in Ohio to open. This is going to bring jobs and visitors to downtown Cleveland."

One woman, who applied for a position at the casino, hopes it could be her ticket to a jackpot, since Cleveland’s location is opening before Toledo’s.

“A bit of gaming, a lot of fun, and Cleveland is more than Toledo,” said Jeania Pickett. “You don’t hear about Toledo unless they’re talking about their college.”

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