Hollywood Casino Toledo is a casino in

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and according ...

, that opened on May 29, 2012. The casino is owned by Gaming and Leisure Properties and operated by

Penn Entertainment Penn Entertainment, Inc., formerly Penn National Gaming, is an American entertainment company and operator of integrated entertainment, sports content, and casino gaming. It operates 43 properties in 20 states, online sports betting in 14 jurisd ...

, and has of gaming space, with 2,002 slot machines, 60 table games, and 20 poker tables.

History

After four failed attempts since 1990 to legalize casinos in Ohio, a fifth proposal was placed on the ballot in 2009 to allow casinos at four specific sites, one in each of the state's largest cities. The major backers were Penn National Gaming (now Penn Entertainment), which would build the casinos in Toledo and Columbus, and Cleveland Cavaliers owner

Dan Gilbert Daniel Gilbert (born January 17, 1962) is an American billionaire businessman, investor, and philanthropist. He is the co-founder and majority owner of Rocket Mortgage, founder of Rock Ventures, and owner of the National Basketball Association' ...

, who would develop the Cleveland and Cincinnati properties. Critics charged that Penn National did not truly intend to build the Toledo casino, which would face stiff competition from Detroit casinos, and only wanted to generate support from local voters. Nevertheless, the measure passed, with 53 percent support both in Lucas County and the state as a whole. Days before the election, Penn National had struck a deal with

Lakes Entertainment Lakes Entertainment, Inc. was an American gaming company based in Minnetonka, Minnesota. It merged with Golden Gaming in 2015 to form Golden Entertainment. History The company was created on December 31, 1998 as part of the merger between Grand ...

, a Minnesota-based gaming operator whose 2008 Ohio casino proposal Penn had fought hard to defeat. Lakes paid for 10 percent of the referendum campaign, and received an option to invest in up to 10 percent of the Toledo and Columbus casinos. Penn National bought out Lakes's interest in the projects for $25 million before construction began, after Lakes had paid $1.9 million. After the measure passed, Penn National exercised its option to buy the 44-acre property on the Maumee River at

Interstate 75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end in 5, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, traveling from S ...

, site of a former

Pilkington Pilkington is a Japanese-owned glass-manufacturing company which is based in Lathom, Lancashire, United Kingdom. In the UK it includes several legal entities and is a subsidiary of Japanese company NSG Group. Prior to its acquisition by NSG ...

glass plant, for $2.5 million. Construction began in August 2010. In 2011, Governor

John Kasich John Richard Kasich Jr. ( ; born May 13, 1952) is an American politician, author, and television news host who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 2001 and as the 69th governor of Ohio from 2011 to 2019. A Republican, Kasic ...

agreed to allow

video lottery terminals A video lottery terminal (VLT), also sometimes known as a video gaming terminal (VGT), video slots, or the video lottery, is a type of electronic gambling machine. They are typically operated by a region's lottery, and situated at licensed establi ...

at Ohio's seven racetracks, including Penn National's Raceway Park in Toledo. To avoid having its own racino compete with the Hollywood Casino, Penn sought state approval to move Raceway Park to the

Youngstown Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County. At the 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. It is a principal city of the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area, which ...

area. In 2015, Hollywoodcasino.com was introduced as the digital casino for all Hollywood properties.

References

External links

* {{coord, 41.62072, -83.54545, display=title, format=dms Casinos in Ohio Tourist attractions in Toledo, Ohio Buildings and structures in Toledo, Ohio 2012 establishments in Ohio Casinos completed in 2012