Say hello to Hollywood, Ohio's second casino opens its doors in Toledo

TOLEDO, Ohio - Gamblers in Northern Ohio now have a choice in state when it comes to the fledgling world of casino gaming. Penn National’s Hollywood Casino opened its door Tuesday becoming the state’s second Las Vegas-style casino, sitting some 112 miles west of Cleveland’s Horseshoe.

On paper, the two casinos are very much alike, similar in size and games offered, but in person they are very different.

The Hollywood Casino is a stand alone destination offering customers everything they’d want: games, food, drink, entertainment all on one floor with attached parking. It is an island unto itself, once you get in the doors, there’s really no reason to leave.

The approach is different from the one taken by Rock Gaming’s Dan Gilbert with Horseshoe Casino Cleveland, which is focused on bringing visitors downtown to gamble, then sending them out to sample what downtown Cleveland has to offer.

“Dan Gilbert’s goal and his situation were different,” said Penn National Gaming Chairman and CEO Peter Carlino. “He really was focused on downtown and had an opportunity to go downtown.”

Carlino said the site of the Hollywood Casino off Interstate 75, just south of downtown Toledo on the Maumee Rive,r was one that local leaders recommended to them.

“We sought out the local folks to kind of tell us where we should be,” he said.

Penn National operates 27 gaming and racing facilities in 18 states and Canada. They are also the developers of the Hollywood Casino under construction in Columbus.

While the $270 million casino does offer sit-own dining, like the Horseshoe, it does not have a hotel, but one will likely be coming. Carlino said city leaders wanted the downtown hotels to initially benefit from the casino.

“We certainly have a plan to build a hotel here if events warrant as we go forward to make it a complete destination,” he said.

That said, he believes the 1,200 jobs they've created will generate the positive economic impact they promised.

"I think we're going to have a lot of impact," said Carlino. "First, it's going to generate a lot of revenue and that will be put to good use, so it's an accumulating effect."

While the state’s first two casinos differ in approach it likely doesn’t matter with both properties expected to draw primarily from their own markets and not from each others, though both are expected to impact casinos in neighboring states.

On hand to show support from Cleveland were Horseshoe General Manager Marcus Glover and Rock Gaming Principal Jeff Cohen who liked what he saw.

“Penn did a beautiful job,” said Cohen. “I think it’s a little bit different, I mean it’s different theming, the energy is still high level. It doesn’t have the downtown urban core feel that we’ve got in Cleveland, but they did a beautiful job.”

Serving as emcee for the days events was Toledo’s favorite son actor Jamie Farr, of MASH fame. Farr said this is what his hometown needed.

“I think it gives it a pep talk, it makes people feel like they are important, there’s something happening in the city,” said Farr. “Toledo’s always had this terrible reputation of coming down on themselves and they shouldn’t do that.”