^The site is less than 3 miles from downtown, just over the river on I-75. The site is just on the border or Rossford and Toledo, but I believe it is within the City of Toledo.

Toledo gets 1st shot at glitz with Hollywood Casino

 

 

Penn National Gaming Inc.’s new casino in Columbus will have much in common with the gambling house the company is ready to open in Toledo, but Central Ohio’s version will be bulked-up.

 

The casino going up on the city’s west side will be about a third larger than its Toledo counterpart, executives said, but the two will feature the same 1930s Hollywood theme, art-deco design, restaurants and mix of slot machines and table games, including blackjack and poker. They also will try to create the same experience for casino visitors.

 

Full article below:

http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/print-edition/2012/05/25/toledo-gets-1st-shot-at-hollywood-glitz.html

Toledo Blade: It's showtime for Hollywood Casino Toledo

 

 

Toledo's Hollywood Casino opens today.  Here are a couple of preview tours of the casino from last week:

 

Blade: Hollywood Casino Media Tour

 

13ABC: 13abc's sneak peek inside Hollywood Casino

No offense to Toledo, but I'm so very glad that Cleveland did not end up with a casino like this. I would have been so much less excited about it.

Toledo casino draws 7,500 on first day

 

 

A new $320 million casino in Toledo drew more than 7,500 people on its first day of operations Tuesday, the Toledo Blade reports.

 

The Hollywood Casino Toledo, scheduled to open at 2 p.m., actually let patrons in a little early, the newspaper reports. Penn National Gaming Inc. (NASDAQ:PENN), which also is building a casino in Columbus, employs more than 1,300 people at the northwest Ohio casino.

 

More below:

http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/morning_call/2012/05/toledo-casino-draws-7500-on-first-day.html

I'll definitely stop and stick my head in to the Hollywood  the next time I'm out that way on the road either to Michigan or Chicago.  Looks nice.  I'm pulling for all the Ohio casinos; hope they're all wildly successful.  As a state, we need the added entertainment and, ... of course, the $$$$.

hmm. toledo are ya swingin?  :mrgreen:

 

 

No offense to Toledo, but I'm so very glad that Cleveland did not end up with a casino like this. I would have been so much less excited about it.

 

 

I'm not offended. I haven't been to either ours here in Toledo or Clevelands yet, but ours seems like its just decent. The architecture and location leave a lot to be desired for me, and its not like we couldn't have done it like Cleveland and repurposed an awesome historical downtown building. We have multiple buildings that would of been great for that. I pictured it being in the building directly across Huron St, from the Huntington Center. Classy lookin building, about 5 or 6 stories. Would have helped anchor more development in the center of downtown. Just my opinion.

^ yeah im still not sure how toledo got a brand new suburban style casino and cleveland got a redevelopment downtown. how was this decided?

Not sure. Obviously the casinos priorities are accessibility and being noticable, and they have that where they are at.

 

How the city just let an opportunity like this for downtown redevelopment go, is beyond me. I remember hearing a viewpoint, at some point or another, that downtown Toledo is "family friendly" and a casino does not/would not be a good fit. When I heard that I was pissed off because a downtown is the heart of the city, where all walks of life meet. It doesnt matter if people are doing something adult oriented like gambling. Downtown isnt specifically for families and already isnt kid safe. Theres already a strip club, and numerous bars and clubs.

 

Ultimately I dont know how it didnt wind up downtown. Im sure Penn National just wanted it a certain way, and we bent over backwards and gave em what they wanted. :-P

Last time I visited, downtown Toledo had one of its more notorious strip clubs right near the Mud Hens stadium, which is about as family friendly as it gets in Toledo. Last I checked, downtown Toledo also was pretty much the only concentrated area of semi-decent nightlife in the city. It's not very family friendly, nor should it be. It caters more to young adults, and has done a decent job maintaining family friendly venues at the same time. And good lord, isn't this the city that produced Star Diner?

 

Toledo did get screwed. Almost everyone I know in Toledo and its suburbs wanted it downtown or as a kickstarter in the Marina District. Who cares about highway access in a city like this? It's not like traffic is bad in Toledo and it's easy to get around. It's a flat city with long arterials and an exit from I-75 right near downtown. That stupid amendment made it impossible to move. I'm also worried about its long-term viability with Detroit and Windsor so nearby (plus the fact so many Toledoans already travel to Detroit for Tigers games, concerts, etc.). Detroit has much better casino developments. If the Toledo casino was a nice downtown venue, I bet it'd be sustainable, but being an island between East Toledo and Rossford probably makes it a losing proposition. How have revenues fared compared to projections?

^The casino site wasn't impossible to move, just difficult.  Ask Columbus.

^Where is the Columbus casino moving?

^Westside, near I-270 & Broad Street.

The casino was located for the convenience of travelers and prostitutes.

Judging by google maps, that Columbus location looks even worse than the Toledo one. I guess at least Toledo's in on the water...

I don't know if that's a good thing.  Prime waterfront location ruined by...an enclosed, windowless box.  You'd might as well put Walmart @ the Maumee while you're at it.

^Fair. It was a terrible design that didn't utilize the water at all.

 

I guess both the Toledo and Columbus casinos suck.

But they have buffets!

I've been there several times now. I already don't care about it. It's not enticing as far as nightlife goes, so even when i do go, I just gamble til I'm spent, then leave. The location is just lame. That's all there is to say about it. The Detroit casinos are only an hour away, tops, and are bigger and better. The location nor the building itself does anything to excite me for the experience lying ahead. Oh well. Maybe the city will grow a pair someday.

This casino has turned into a real problem for the nearby city. They built it right on a city line, causing heavy traffic and criminal over-spill into the nearby city which receives no tax revenue from the casino.

 

Most locals are underwhelmed with the location, and I'm told that the casino is not doing as well as they had hoped.