Austintown racino stakes claim for prosperous first month

By ROBERT CONNELLY

and KALEA HALL

news@vindy.com

AUSTINTOWN

Officials at the Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley Race Course don’t, as a rule, discuss money or profits or customer numbers.

But they can measure the first month in Austintown with other numbers: 65,000 sodas. About 50,000 Marquee Rewards members. 35,000 beers. 6,500 pounds of french fries. 6,000 cars parked by valet.

What’s it all add up to?

“We are very happy with the facility, its operation and the staff,” said Scott Frost, director of marketing for Hollywood Gaming. “We’ve already developed a cohesive culture of fun, and this is translating to high service levels for our guests.”

The racino raced off to its start Sept. 17, and the area will see the opening of the one-mile thoroughbred racetrack Nov. 24.

The racino continues to hire workers and to finish construction on the horse barns and racetrack.

Live bands were added Thursday nights for the next month to perform in the H Lounge, and the Skybox Sports Bar also will open an hour earlier.

This is in addition to the high amount of guests signing up for the Marquee Rewards program.

“We were [surprised],” Frost said. “It’s been very interesting. You know, the best thing that we could have done was to offer those early sign-ups to help with lines.”

The Ohio Lottery Commission reported Oct. 7 that the racino took in $3.9 million in net winnings after $46.8 million credits were played over a 14-day period. Among the jackpots won, there are a $6,429, two $8,000, a $10,577, and a $20,000.

While Hollywood’s parent company, Penn National Gaming Inc., does not allow its employees to talk about monthly numbers released through the lottery commission, Frost did talk about the amount of people in the facility.

“We really feel that we are in a great location and in a great region here,” Frost said. “Our customers are looking for something to do as I think we’ve brought a whole new realm of entertainment to the Valley.”

Since the opening, the facility had only a handful of police incidents, and Austintown Fire Chief Andy Frost III said the last time his crews were called out to the facility was the first week.

Scott Frost said the facility continues to look at business levels to decide when and if to expand.

“I would venture to say that those first few weekends were very busy and you might have had some difficulty finding a machine, but as this honeymoon period tapers down it’s been much easier,” he said. “We haven’t had any issues.”

The Ohio State Highway Patrol monitored the traffic the first week the racino opened and dealt with just a few fender-bender accidents.

“We are not working out there anymore,” said Lt. Nakia Hendrix, post commander of the OSP Canfield post. “We were just there for the influx of traffic.”

The Ohio Department of Transportation also assisted with traffic flow at that time.

BUS AND SHUTTLES

Shuttle services offered by the racino also have been going well. The shuttles are mostly on-call and stop at the truck stop and hotels in the state Route 46 area.

“If [guests] call our valet, they will come to pick them up almost any time, so it’s virtually 24 hours,” Frost said. “We’ve been surprised by the number of passengers we’re getting from the truck stops, which is good.”

There also is a possibility of expanding the shuttle services to other truck stops off the next exit on Interstate 80 and to the Austintown Plaza.

Bus tours and the Western Reserve Transit Authority have expressed interest in coming to the racino, but there are some concerns with how the bus will turn around if the parking lot is packed.

Another thought with bus tours is the amount of people on the bus that will add to the already busy location. Frost wants to be able to maintain the service levels with the 850 video lottery terminals, the racino’s food court and restaurant and bars.

WRTA Executive Director James Ferraro had a bus enter and turn around at the racino.

“We weren’t very effective,” he said. “It’s tight, and we do not want to be a problem.”

Ferraro hopes more room for the buses to turn around will open up. The WRTA received eight new buses this week, and one of those could be used for a possible express route straight to the racino.

HOTELS

Comfort Inn is just one hotel in the Route 46 area that has benefited in some way from the opening of the racino.

General Manager Shelley Stevens said she has started a tracking list to see how many guests are there to visit the attraction. While she says she hasn’t seen a high amount of impact yet, she did have seven to eight rooms booked last Saturday for it.

“We have had a lot of activity of people who were booked here anyway and were going there,” she said.

Frank Pasqualetti Sr., who owns the Holiday Inn Express and Candlewood Suites on Route 46, saw the impact when the racino first opened and there were a number of people with Hollywood Gaming staying at his hotels.

“I don’t think we are going to see an impact until racing starts,” he said. “I think it is a good thing for Austintown and they will be a good neighbor, and eventually it will impact all of the businesses.”

Live thoroughbred racing for the winter season will happen on every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday. Hollywood Gaming currently offers simulcast betting on races across the country in its simulcast auditorium on the second level of the facility behind the grandstand seating. There are booklets throughout the facility providing guidance for first-time horse bettors, and Frost said they are considering offering a class.