TOLEDO, Ohio -- Mayor Michael Bell hailed the opening of Ohio's second casino Tuesday as key to his struggling industrial city's fight for economic recovery.
"A lot of things are starting to click in," Bell said after addressing the crowd at a ribbon cutting. "This is just one part." He pointed to a series of other proposed projects that include a Great Lakes Museum and new housing.
The $320 million, 24-hour, movie-theme casino developed by Penn National Gaming Co., sits on the bank of the Maumee River, five minutes from downtown. The 44-acre property was once the site of a glass factory.
Toledo hopes to receive $3 million to $4 million a year in taxes from Ohio casinos, once all four allowed under a 2009 constitutional amendment are in operation. Bell said the city will use the money to rebuild roads and put the money in reserve.
The Hollywood offers a sharp contrast to the Horseshoe Casino Cleveland, which opened May 14. The Cleveland casino, developed by Cavaliers majority owner Dan Gilbert and his Rock Ohio Caesars joint venture, occupies a former department store in the heart of a downtown and is intended to feed and complement nearby attractions.
The Hollywood is isolated at the Miami Street Interstate 75 interchange and offers a package of live entertainment and in-house dining options.
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The differences carried over to the opening ceremonies Tuesday. While the Horseshoe opened at night, the Hollywood opted for a morning VIP reception and ribbon-cutting, hosted by native son Jamie Farr, a star of the classic TV show M*A*S*H.
Long lines formed outside the Horseshoe on opening night. The Hollywood started with a trickle of patrons that quickly began to build.
Penn National announced a 2 p.m. opening but began admitting the public more than two hours early to ensure order, a spokesman said. Though many dealers were still idle at 1 p.m., slot machines were drawing customers and about 200 people waited to sign up for their customer-loyalty cards. Outside, cars were backed up onto I-75.
The Toledo casino's operators hope to draw from Northwest Ohio, as well as parts of Michigan and Indiana.
Penn National has no plans to build a hotel on the property, but Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Peter Carlino, in Toledo for the opening, told reporters he does not believe that will matter because most customers will live within a 30-minute drive.
Ohio law forbids smoking inside the Hollywood and all of the state's casinos. Gamblers can smoke in casinos 60 miles to the north in Detroit, but Carlino said Penn National will not push to loosen the ban.
"It is what it is," he said. "We'll deal with it."
Betty Weiss of LaSalle, Mich., was one of the first to enter after the ribbon cutting and quickly settled in at a Golden Goddess nickel slot machine. The 63-year-old lives almost as close to Detroit but says she doesn't feel safe going to the casinos there.
Another slots player, Amanda Melendez of Toledo, is not a regular casino-goer but came Tuesday as a show of support for her city. She said the visit would not be her last.
"It's beautiful," said Melendez, 58. "If some friends come into town, I'll definitely bring them here."
Retired insurance salesman Jerry Kreuz said he used to travel monthly to Detroit, but with the Hollywood opening 10 minutes from his home in the Toledo suburb of Maumee, those days are over. He said the buzz in his social circles indicate others feel the same way.
"I have friends who go every week to Detroit or Jackson, Mich.," said Kruez, 75. "They said, 'This saves a lot of gas. We'll come here once a week.' "
Horseshoe General Manager Marcus Glover and Jeff Cohen, a principal in Gilbert's Rock Gaming LLC, stopped in Tuesday to check out the competition and play blackjack.
Cohen said the roomy Hollywood had "good look and feel to it," but that he doesn't regret Rock Ohio Caesars' selection of a tighter fit in the historic former Higbee store.
Hollywood Casino Toledo by the numbers
$320 million
Cost
24-hour
Access
60
Table games
20
Poker tables
2,000
Slot and video poker machines.
10,000
Capacity, in people ... but
2,878
Parking spaces
2.8 million
Predicted annual visitors
"A downtown urban casino is going to have a different look and feel," said Cohen, who supervised the Horseshoe construction. "I wouldn't have done anything different."
Alison Clark dealt the cards to Glover and Cohen. She said they were friendly and left with slightly more money than they wagered.
To win support for casino gambling in Ohio, Penn National and Rock Ohio Caesars promised to give the vast majority of their jobs to local residents.
Clark, a 24-year-old single mother, said she applied after a friend of her fiance mentioned the opportunity.
A lot of the casinos' dealers are inexperienced. Clark played cards before landing the job but had never been in a casino. She acknowledged feeling anxious, particularly after she asked Glover and Cohen about the Horseshoe pins on their lapels and learned their identities.
"It's hard not to be nervous," Clark said. "Once I start talking and dealing, it's not so bad."
The Hollywood can hold about 10,000 people, but attendance will be limited by the amount of parking. The casino has just under 2,800 spaces for customers.
Penn National will open another Hollywood Casino in Columbus this fall. Rock Ohio is expected to open the Horseshoe Cincinnati next spring.