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Racino to open next month
Penn National plans to announce grand- opening date soon
By ROBERT CONNELLY
AUSTINTOWN
Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley Race Course will open in September, but an exact date has yet to be set.
Bob Tenenbaum, spokesman for Penn National, said the announcement was made last week during Penn National’s second-quarter investor conference call.
“I think it’s an indication that the folks at corporate feel that they can tighten up that fall by getting it into a specific month, and that’s the normal process,” he said.
According to Penn National’s second-quarter report news release, the company talked about the “significant economic opportunities” in Dayton and Austintown. “We recently held a highly successful job fair and continue to anticipate completing staffing and announcing a September 2014 grand opening date shortly,” it states.
Tenenbaum added, “All of this is pending final regulatory approval.”
The Ohio Lottery Commission granted Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley Race Course a temporary license for its video lottery terminals June 11. The racino is going to start with 850 and has room to expand its VLT floor.
Tenenbaum said the final operating license is usually granted a few days before opening. On the installation of the VLTs, he said, workers “have been moving through those pretty steadily. Once they’re installed, they need to be tested.”
Penn National’s new Dayton track, Hollywood Gaming at Dayton Raceway, a harness horse track, is set to open Aug. 28.
The approximate 190-acre site in Austintown, meanwhile, sits off of state Route 46, close to the Interstate 80 interchange, and will provide a 400-member team, 90 percent filled by local workers.
Penn National has invested $250 million into the Austintown project and the racino will feature a 1-mile thoroughbred track for its winter racing season. That will feature 21 races this year, beginning Nov. 24.