Racino groundbreaking is 1 p.m. Thursday

May 28, 2013 at 2:12p.m.

AUSTINTOWN

Groundbreaking is set for 1 p.m. Thursday for the Hollywood at Mahoning Valley Race Course.

Elected officials, community leaders and members of the construction team will join Tim Wilmott, president and chief operating officer of Penn National Gaming Inc., for the formal groundbreaking ceremony of the $125 million Hollywood at Mahoning Valley Race Course, 700 N. Canfield-Niles Road.

The construction equipment is on-site; there will be large graphics of casino design and an opportunity for media to view the casino site up-close.

Hollywood at Mahoning Valley Race Course — scheduled to open in mid-2014 — will feature a Hollywood-themed Video Lottery Terminal facility with up to 1,500 VLTs along with a variety of food and beverage options, plus a one-mile racetrack for thoroughbred racing with a climate-controlled grandstand and state-of-the-art simulcast wagering theater.

The $125 million project, exclusive of an additional $125 million in licensing and relocation fees to the state, is expected to create approximately 1,000 jobs during construction and 1,000 direct and indirect jobs once the facility opens, according to Penn National gaming.