Game on as new racino readies for Sept. 17 opening

AUSTINTOWN

New restaurant workers at Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley Race Course kept their hands steady on their practicing trays and kept a smile on their faces while learning the ins and outs of their new workplace.

Their game is on.

Enthusiasm for the racino has been building in the Valley since Penn National Inc. officials announced in 2012 they would invest $250 million to build the gaming facility and thoroughbred racetrack off of state Route 46.

The official address will be 777 Hollywood Drive.

Just one week before opening the doors at the racino at noon on Sept. 17, reporters and photographers were invited inside the almost-finished 100,000-square-foot location.

People “are looking for another form of entertainment,” said Mike Galle, general manager of the Austintown racino. “We definitely have a lot of entertainment options here from food to simulcast racing, the [850] VLTs, or just coming down and staying at the bar in our H Lounge area and enjoying the local bands that will be playing down there.”

The “old Hollywood” feel of the racino has come together since the ground-breaking ceremony took place in May 2013.

Over the course of the past year, the Valley watched the once-bare site become bustling with about 1,500 construction jobs.

Now the action is visible on the inside of the racino. In less than a week an expected 5,000 guests a day will enter through the doors.

Plastic wrap covered parts of the floor and seating areas while workers tested and assembled VLT’s, mounted televisions and perfected the landscaping on Wednesday.

“A lot of things you see are last-minute work,” Galle said. “[We will] probably set up completely over the weekend.”

Read more about the features of the new venture in Thursday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.