Caesars Entertainment has been out in front of the online gambling issue over the past year. The largest casino company in the world(formerly Harrah's
The gaming company also saw how Senator Harry Reid's proposed online poker legislation was worded in recent weeks, heavily favoring existing casinos when it came to handing out online licenses. That may or may not have made a difference in the decision announced on Wednesday to move into the gaming industry in Ohio.
Caesars will operate and have a stake in the two casinos that are majority owned by Dan Gilbert in Ohio. The casinos which will cost $600 million and $400 million, respectively to build in Cleveland and Cincinnati, were approved back in 2009 by Ohio residents.
Voters had turned away casino proposals several times in past elections, but in 2009 the economy was still down and job creation became important to many Americans. The voters approved a plan for casinos in not only Cleveland and Cincinnati, but also for Toledo and Columbus. Only the Cleveland and Cincinnati casinos are owned by Gilbert.
Toledo and Columbus casinos will be operated by Penn National Gaming. The company has already had to switch the original location of the Columbus casinos after residents and business leaders opposed the location. The city and Penn National discussed several new locations, and one was approved by voters in the mid-term elections.
Caesars has made their move into the online gambling market this year when they launched several Caesars branded casinos in jurisdictions where Internet gaming is regulated. The company did not reveal on Wednesday how much of an investment they made into the Ohio casinos, but regardless they will be running the daily operations at the two facilities.
A bill being discussed by Senator Reid would have given casinos in existence for at least five years a chance to apply for online gaming licenses. With the bill not passing, it is likely any new legislation could be entirely different than the bill proposed by Reid.
December 23, 2010
Posted By Tom Jones
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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