Eldorado Gaming Scioto Downs, formerly known as Scioto Downs Racino, is a
horse racing track and
casino
A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...
in
Columbus, Ohio, owned and operated by
Caesars Entertainment. The track has operated since 1959, and became Ohio's first
racino
A racino is a combined race track and casino. In some cases, the gambling is limited to slot machines, but many locations are beginning to include Casino game#Table games, table games such as blackjack, poker, and roulette.
In 2003, Joe Bob Br ...
with the addition of
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 ...
(VLTs) on June 1, 2012. The track was annexed by Columbus from
Hamilton Township in 2012. The casino is , with over 2,200 VLTs.
Information
Eldorado Scioto Downs is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. In addition to the VLT gaming facility, Scioto Downs includes a year-round
horse racing simulcast room and live
harness racing from May to September. In May 2013 Scioto Downs started a live outdoor summer music concert series with national acts, primarily in country, rock and blues genres.
History
MTR Gaming Group
MTR Gaming Group was a gaming company based in Chester, West Virginia that operated horse racing tracks and racinos. It was formed on March 7, 1988, in Wilmington, Delaware. On September 19, 2014, it merged with Eldorado Holdco LLC, forming El ...
purchased Scioto Downs in 2003 for $19 million. MTR merged in 2014 with Eldorado Resorts,
which then changed its name to Caesars Entertainment in 2020.
Scioto Downs has a long history within the Columbus, Ohio community. In addition to
horse racing, Scioto Downs also hosted the annual
Ohio High School Athletic Association state
cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open cou ...
championships, which were generally held in late October or early November, from 1985 to 2010.
The meet included Division I, II, and III races for both girls and boys, featuring 950 competitors from 96 teams, and attracted around 10,000 spectators.
With the introduction of VLT machines to Scioto Downs (a move shared by other Ohio racetracks) the OHSSA, which is opposed to live gambling, announced that from the 2011 meet the OHSAA championships would move from Scioto to the
National Trail Raceway.
In March 2020, Scioto Downs, along with all of Ohio casinos, were shut down due to state mandated
Covid 19 restrictions.
[Jim Tomlin]
"Ohio Casinos Face Revenue Shortage Amid Closures,"
Top US Casinos, April 9, 2020. One year later, Scioto Downs had record breaking revenues in March 2021 after all restrictions were lifted.
[Jim Tomlin]
"Ohio Casinos and Racinos Shatter Revenue Records in March,"
Top US Casinos, April 7, 2021.
Gallery
File:Scioto Downs.jpg, Aerial view
File:Wheel of Fortune.jpg, VLT games
File:Internal VLT photo.jpg, VLT games
File:Last Turn.jpg, Live race at Scioto Downs
See also
*
List of casinos in Ohio
References
External links
*
Horse racing venues in Ohio
Casinos in Ohio
Buildings and structures in Franklin County, Ohio
Tourist attractions in Franklin County, Ohio
Caesars Entertainment
1959 establishments in Ohio
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