Playhouse Square might still have some of that magic, even for adults.

 

I agree.  E. 4th St. too.  And Tower City even at Christmas.

 

But the magic is different when you're little.

The last "magical" moment I remember in Cleveland was when the Cavs beat the Pistons in Game 6. Downtown was unbelievable with everyone, EVERYONE jumping in the streets. There had to be 15,000 people all over W6 hugging each other. There was really something in the air.

The last "magical" moment I remember in Cleveland was when the Cavs beat the Pistons in Game 6. Downtown was unbelievable with everyone, EVERYONE jumping in the streets. There had to be 15,000 people all over W6 hugging each other. There was really something in the air.

 

Now that our sports teams are all in the crapper maybe we'll see that happen after someone hits the jackpot on a slot machine.  (See how I avoided the moderator's wrath there? :) )

 

Now that our sports teams are all in the crapper maybe we'll see that happen after someone hits the jackpot on a slot machine.

 

Now THAT was a creative way to bring the subject back on topic. Well done!!

 

Holy crap.  You'd think there was nothing else worth seeing downtown!  :-P

 

 

It'd be nice if they could throw in a sign or two that said "This way to E. 4th Street/Progressive Field/Quicken Loans Arena/Warehouse District/Rock Hall/etc..."

Horseshoe Casino Cleveland sees 16,000 applicants for 750 jobs

2:40 pm, December 16, 2011

 

In another sign that people are hungry for work, Horseshoe Casino Cleveland said it already has received 16,000 applications for the additional 750 job openings that were posted last Monday on the website of the casino that's under construction in the former Higbee Building in downtown Cleveland.

 

Rock Gaming LLC, the company that co-owns the Cleveland casino with Caesars Entertainment Corp., said positions for cashiers, slot supervisors, administrative assistance, food and beverage and security are among those that have seen the most applicants.

 

READ MORE AT:

http://www.crainscleveland.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20111216/FREE/111219877

 

CLEVELAND - Cleveland police said a floor of the new casino at Ontario and Prospect has collapsed.

 

It happened at about 3:30 p.m.

 

 

 

Read more: http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/news/local_news/cleveland_metro/cleveland-police-floor-of-new-casino-at-prospect-and-ontario-has-collapsed?#ixzz1gjUXRkBg

I see, it wasn't in the casino -- as in the Higbee building -- but in the Welcome Center (aka super-sized Hot Wheels Mega Garage).

 

I think this was the ghost of the Columbia Building seeking its revenge.

^^To clarify, the floor collapse occurred at the parking garage currently under construction, NOT in the Higbee building.

Yeah, it's been updated:

A spokesperson for Rock Ohio told NewsChannel5 that the collapse happened in the parking structure across the street from the casino.

 

 

 

Read more: http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/news/local_news/cleveland_metro/cleveland-police-floor-of-new-casino-at-prospect-and-ontario-has-collapsed#ixzz1gjXx4sqV

^Yeah, you had me scared for a minute.  I was having visions of injuries, death, destruction and the worst of all... a 6 month delay in me acquiring a gambling addiction.

This is most definitely Karma

Yeah, it's been updated:

A spokesperson for Rock Ohio told NewsChannel5 that the collapse happened in the parking structure across the street from the casino.

 

Read more: http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/news/local_news/cleveland_metro/cleveland-police-floor-of-new-casino-at-prospect-and-ontario-has-collapsed#ixzz1gjXx4sqV

 

Man, I always cringe when I read the commend "only in Cleveland!"  ....Yes, a parking structure has a one floor collapse during construction...that can only possibly be Cleveland..

 

I often wonder if this people have ever been outside of Cuyahoga County (or Medina county??)

If it weren't for that rebar, whatever the hell that is, just think about how everything would change. We're talking about national news coverage, Drudge headlines, more bad press, families' screaming, lawsuits, city-wide shock, delays to the opening, EMTs, triage units, Mayor Jackson climbing out of his bunker for a rare conference (yeah, I know he's in Columbus...), vigils, cleveland.com and PD articles and comments and op/eds, etc.

 

VIDEO: http://www.wkyc.com/news/article/220237/3/Part-of-roof-at-Cleveland-casino-parking-garage-collapses

 

It looks like 1/4 of the garage that collapsed as well can see from the aerial.

 

 

Curse of the Columbia!

 

(Glad no one was hurt.)

I hope all of you Save Lower Prospect members can account for your whereabouts yesterday....

Curse of the Columbia!

 

(Glad no one was hurt.)

 

 

FYI.....

 

I think this was the ghost of the Columbia Building seeking its revenge.

 

 

I've heard of eco-terrorists doing some nasty shit, but damn....

 

I hope all of you Save Lower Prospect members can account for your whereabouts yesterday....

I was biting my tounge about rushing construction and lax oversite until I got all the facts, but if you want to go there....

 

 

;)

Of course we don't know the facts at this point but the first thing that popped into my head was "this is what happens on construction projects in a third world country"....I mean it is not like this is some kind of complex design.

Of course we don't know the facts at this point but the first thing that popped into my head was "this is what happens on construction projects in a third world country"....I mean it is not like this is some kind of complex design.

 

Well it-shay can happen anywhere.  Maybe somebody forgot that last piece of 2X4 shoring.

Come on, this isn't the first time it's happened. A much worse accident happened in Portland when they were expanding their airport parking garage in 1997; 3 workers were killed.

 

http://www.djc.com/news/const/10029732.html

 

 

Same thing happened in Jacksonville at a condo high rise a few years ago.

Some national news coverage:

 

Cleveland gets first roll of casino dice in Ohio

 

(AP)  CLEVELAND — Visitors to Ohio's first casino won't see glitzy Las Vegas-style stage shows but instead will get an invitation to gamble and then sample the attractions in blue-collar Cleveland.

 

The Horseshoe Casino Cleveland will open in late March on four floors of a renovated department store overlooking Public Square in the heart of downtown.

 

The casino will have 2,011 slot machines, 63 table games and a 30-table poker room.

 

Instead of offering in-house live entertainment, the casino will bet on drawing visitors who are also interested in other Cleveland attractions including its sports teams, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum and its busy theater scene.

 

"Rather than saying, 'Come to Horseshoe Cleveland' and just come into the casino and stay the entire time, we're actually connecting to the city," the casino's manager, Marcus Glover, said during a year-end construction tour interview.

 

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505245_162-57348287/cleveland-gets-first-roll-of-casino-dice-in-ohio/

Their PR people say "visit the city", but their parking plans say "Never go outside."

 

If the casino people seem to want to get people to explore the city so much, wouldn't a good start be to get them from the garage onto the street instead of gerbil tubes?

 

 

City hall seems to believe that the only way to have a vibrant city is to have it enclosed in climate controlled tubes.  At the same time they are trying to put local places like Beachland Ballroom out of business

 

"It's important for the casino not to be just an enclosed shrine to betting," said Chris Warren, Cleveland's chief of regional development.

 

With walkways and pedestrian tunnels linking the casino to the sports complex and Tower City retail-office complex, "you have a unique constellation of really high-visitor, high-marquee venues that will be connected," he said.

City hall seems to believe that the only way to have a vibrant city is to have it enclosed in climate controlled tubes.  At the same time they are trying to put local places like Beachland Ballroom out of business

 

"It's important for the casino not to be just an enclosed shrine to betting," said Chris Warren, Cleveland's chief of regional development.

 

With walkways and pedestrian tunnels linking the casino to the sports complex and Tower City retail-office complex, "you have a unique constellation of really high-visitor, high-marquee venues that will be connected," he said.

I don't agree.  I assume they are talking about the existing connections to tower city.  You cannot blame the design of the TT/Union Station, which has always been connected to other buildings - Landmark office Bldg, Post office & Higbees - on Cleveland City hall.  The only "new" connection is the walkway gateway.

 

Hopefully more people will use city streets, If the weather is bad, I myself might use a tunnel as I have in other cities.

A construction crew has begun tearing down part of the Horseshoe Casino's parking center that collapsed while concrete was being poured earlier this month.

 

About 15 men were working on the site of the incident at the corner of Prospect and Ontario avenues, catty-corner from the Higbee Building, which is being renovated for the casino. The crew is using heavy machinery to break rubble into smaller pieces for removal.

 

 

 

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2011/12/crews_tear_down_part_of_damage.html

 

 

wth?  Article from the Columbus Dispatch...I've heard nothing about Cleveland delayed.  Could the reporter be simply wrong about Cleveland...misinformation??  Licensing delays??...  If this is true and Columbus govt can't get its $h!t together...seriously?

 

Dan Gilbert...attack!

Cleveland, Toledo casinos are delayed

 

By  David Eggert

The Columbus Dispatch

Wednesday January 4, 2012 1:39 PM

 

Openings of Ohio's first two casinos this spring will be pushed back — possibly by at least two months because of delays in the licensing process.

 

The Casino Control Commission was told today that the state does not enough time to properly investigate casinos in Cleveland and Toledo before their proposed opening dates.

 

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/01/04/Cleveland-Toledo-casinos-delayed_.html

 

*crickets* 

 

no one has a response or thoughts??

^Tough to know what to think at this point...hopefully the PD has more info in the next couple days.  Hard to believe there could be a huge disconnect b/w the state and the operators about the schedule, but who knows.

I could make a snarky comment about how the rush to knock down the Columbia wasn't needed, but I won't.

Well its not like it is because of construction delays.  There has always been a chance that these delays would happen due to state licencing process, which I have read about several times. 

I think Rock gaming (believing they are invincible) didnt believe in the end it would be an issue. 

From the Plain Dealer...F@$% you Columbus....

 

Grand openings of Cleveland and Toledo casinos delayed by state officials

Published: Wednesday, January 04, 2012, 10:00 PM    Updated: Thursday, January 05, 2012, 12:11 AM

Reginald Fields, The Plain Dealer By Reginald Fields, The Plain Dealer

 

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The opening of casinos in Cleveland and Toledo will be delayed for several weeks, and likely much longer, because the required background checks on the gaming operators and vendors are well behind schedule.

 

The Ohio Casino Control Commission received the sobering news during its meeting on Wednesday from its consultant, Spectrum Gaming Group, as representatives of the casino operators, Rock Ohio Caesars and Penn National Gaming Inc., looked on.

 

Neither operator commented publicly at the meeting but were clearly disappointed. Each day the gambling spots are not open could cost the operators a combined $1.4 million, according to a Plain Dealer analysis of revenue projections from state and company officials.

 

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2012/01/grand_openings_of_cleveland_an.html

I'm no casino fan, but I have no doubt that the self-righteous imbeciles who are running state government see this as another opportunity to stick it to Ohio's urban areas. We're only dins of sin to their rural/exurban way of thinking. Having casinos doesn't help fight that image of theirs, but what major cities in the world don't have some kind of casino gambling?

I'm no casino fan, but I have no doubt that the self-righteous imbeciles who are running state government see this as another opportunity to stick it to Ohio's urban areas. We're only dins of sin to their rural/exurban way of thinking. Having casinos doesn't help fight that image of theirs, but what major cities in the world don't have some kind of casino gambling?

 

Agree totally on Columbus--sounds like an extension of ODOT!

 

Disagree on casinos in "major" cities.  I can think of plenty of examples of cities without casinos.  Here in the US the trend has been for cities on the decline to rush to get them in the last 20 years.  I wonder what we are all going to do when every downtrodden city has a casino.  That day is nearing quickly!

Disagree on casinos in "major" cities.  I can think of plenty of examples of cities without casinos.  Here in the US the trend has been for cities on the decline to rush to get them in the last 20 years.  I wonder what we are all going to do when every downtrodden city has a casino.  That day is nearing quickly!

 

I'm just sayin' I was surprised at how many cities I've visited outside the U.S. had casinos. And while few U.S. cities have them in their urban core, there's often one not far away. Even Cincinnati had one just over the state line in Lawrenceburg, IN.

Does anyone think there are political reasons for holding up the opening?  There obviously isn't a funding or construction problem. 

 

Too bad for the people expecting to start their jobs in March, not to mention the missed taxes for the city of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County.  Plus, Cleveland will be in the national spotlight April 14 with the RRHOF Induction Ceremony...the Casino was supposed to be open for this...

Looks like someone didn't get his campaign contribution this month.

Every day the casino isn't open, government isn't getting any taxes, so I doubt it is a broad conspiracy.

Our community could desperately use this revenue--why can't the people running things in Cowtown recognize this?  Just another example of them being out-of-touch with Cleveland issues and putting their thumb on us.

Well, as far as I know, the casino construction is also a bit behind schedule. I know someone who works there and he doubts that everything will be finished on time

Does anyone think there are political reasons for holding up the opening? 

 

In John Kasich's rural-oriented, anti-gambling, Bible-thumping, anti-union, anti-urban, passenger-train-killing Administration?  ... Nooooooooo.

Curse of the Columbia strikes again!

From this article it sounds like Rock Gaming is at least partly responsible for the delay

 

http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2011/11/cleveland_casino_opening_threa.html?mobRedir=false

Curse of the Columbia strikes again!

 

I hope not.  I'm still mad and will always be bitter at the lack of leadership City Hall showed when they threw away not only a great building, but also all the time and money that was put into the lower Prospect bike friendly road redevelopment.

 

However, the past is in the past.  Rooting for the casino to fail is rooting for Cleveland to fail.

Construction's delayed by a month according to my friend

I've been driving past the parking deck/welcome center building several times a week now that I picked up a second job in the area. I actually am surprised at how fast they dismantled, cleaned up and rebuilt the collapsed section of the deck. As well as the rest of the structure.

This may be an ignorant statement but I thought this was supposed to be the temp home and there would be some huge 600 million dollar casino?  WTF?