Cleveland’s casino will open on May 14, the first full-service gambling facility in Ohio.
“I’m not going to downplay it, this is historic. This will be the first casino in the state of Ohio,” a reserved but happy Marcus Glover, general manager of Cleveland’s Horseshoe Casino, said after the Casino Control Commission chose his site over a rival Toledo casino.
“The historic nature is significant, but we want to make sure that not only are we the first but we’re the best and we do it in the right way,” he said.
The commission made the decision at its Wednesday meeting after members reluctantly deliberated over which site would get the prestige of being first to open.
The commission initially asked the two casinos to decide between themselves, but that long-shot idea was shelved when neither side was willing to step aside for the other.
Board member Peter Silverman, a Toledo attorney, suggested the board flip a coin. He was serious. Board chair Jo Ann Davidson said it was the board’s duty to make a choice.
Commission members then inquired about further delaying the decision until their next meeting in March. They then awkwardly stared at each other waiting for someone to make the call. Commission member June Taylor, a Cleveland businesswoman, finally did.
“I’d like to make a motion that the first operator to open be Rock Ohio Caesars,” she said.
Taylor said a number of factors went into her decision, including the fact that the Cleveland operators had their application for background checks submitted more than a month before the Toledo group did.
The board approved Taylor’s request with one no vote, Silverman, who questioned whether the Cleveland casino will have passed all the necessary background checks to open by mid-May.
Silverman noted that because the Toledo site is owned by Penn National, a well-established gaming company, its background checks would not need as much time and could be done before the newly formed Rock Ohio Caesars.
“We’ll be ready,” Glover said after the meeting.
The date was selected by commission executive director Matt Schuler, who had offered up May 14 and May 28 as the grand openings for the two casinos. So the Toledo casino, owned by Penn National, will get the Memorial Day weekend slot.
