'America's Loneliest Neighborhood' Opens CasinoColumbus, Ohio's West Side Gets Third Vegas-Style Casino In State |
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Columbus, Ohio’s West Side, sometimes known as “America’s Loneliest Neighborhood” thanks to a 2009 Associated Press article, now has a brand new Las Vegas-style casino in an effort to rejuvenate some economic activity in the area, NPR News reported.
Some of Columbus’ most recognizable natives came out to the Monday opening of Penn National Gaming’s Hollywood Casino. Former Ohio State University running back Archie Griffin served as the “master of ceremonies,” according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
The Hollywood Columbus is the third gambling joint of its kind to open in the state. It’s so far the largest, but the Horseshoe Casino Cleveland could be expanded in the future. Another one exists in Toledo. A fourth operation is set to open up in Cincinnati next year.
The Columbus casino is just the latest in the arms race of gambling expansion in the eastern part of the United States. In an effort to increase tax revenue, a handful of states are trying to keep their own gamblers from traveling elsewhere to play.
As gambling in the Buckeye State ramps up, those targeting the tax dollars will still be engaged in debates on precisely how it use whatever they end up getting. The tax rate affecting the Ohio casinos is 33 percent. Nevada, the U.S. birthplace of such wagering, has a take of 6.75 percent.
A report released last week from Policy Matters Ohio, which has analyzed the state’s financial gains coming from the casinos, said that the projected new tax revenue covers less than 25 percent of what Ohio will cut from its public spending on things such as education.
Approval of the Columbus casino and figuring out where it would be built was contentious.
According to Business First, Penn National Gaming’s president Tim Wilmott said boldly during the opening ceremony: “There’s been a lot of water under the bridge over the past three years. Now it’s all positive memories that will carry us forward.”
The casino reportedly will infuse 2,000 new jobs into the area. Ohio’s unemployment rate has been on the decline, but hundreds of thousands are still without work.
About 600 of those jobs will be used for 100 tip-generating table games, the Columbus Dispatch reported. A person from the casino told the paper that the goal is for 75 percent of them to eventually be full-time positions with benefits.
Unlike Las Vegas casinos, the Hollywood Columbus is non-smoking. A controversial hiring process by Penn National Gaming has made it so smokers can’t work at the property.
One of the ancillary economic benefits of the casino so far has been the rebuilding of a nearby McDonald’s restaurant. Others will also try to capitalize on increased visitation to the area.
Follow Brian Pempus on Twitter — @brianpempus
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