Friday, June 17, 2011
A casino deal reached today with Penn National Gaming Inc. will help the company meet another goal: relocating two horse-racing gaming licenses, including one to Austintown.
That’s according to Bob Tenenbaum, a Penn National spokesman.
Gov. John Kasich announced today that Penn National came to an agreement to pay an additional $110 million in fees to the state over a 10-year period for casinos it’s building in Columbus and Toledo.
It’s similar to a deal announced Wednesday between the state and Rock Ohio Caesars, building casinos in Cleveland and Cincinnati.
Penn National also wants to relocate its horse-racing gaming license from Raceway Park, a harness track in Toledo, to a $200 million facility to be built in Austintown at the vacant 186-acre Centerpointe business park. The company also wants to move its gaming license from Beulah Park in Grove City, near Columbus, to the Dayton area.
Those relocations were contingent on the state allowing slot machines, called video lottery terminals [VLTs], at the state’s seven horse racetracks.
Kasich approved VLTs at the racetracks as part of the casino deals.
“We intend to actively participate in the legislative discussion on VLTs and relocation,” Tenenbaum said. “Our goal is to fulfil our desire to relocate those tracks.”
For the complete story, read Saturday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com