Exterior of the Hollywood Casino Columbus, which opens at noon on Monday, October 8. Hollywood Casino Columbus

(Columbus, Oh.) – The second Ohio casino owned by Penn National Gaming celebrates its grand opening on Monday, putting more pressure on southeast Indiana's riverboats.

The new Hollywood Casino Columbus opening on the west side of Ohio’s capital city is expected to draw three million visitors each year. The $400 million facility is owned by the same company that owns Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg in southeast Indiana.

It will open its doors to the public at noon. The casino has already gone through a test run during an invitation-only demonstration day last week.

Hollywood Casino Columbus brags 475,000 square feet, event space, 3,000 slot machines, 78 table games, a poker room, and four restaurants.

In 2009, Ohio voters approved a constitutional amendment to allow four casinos in the state. Two others in Toledo – also owned by Penn National Gaming – and Cleveland opened earlier this year. The fourth casino, Horseshoe Cincinnati, will open in the queen city in the Spring of 2013. The Columbus casino will be the largest of the four in Ohio.

Indiana is estimated to lose as much as $100 million in tax revenue in the first year after all four of Ohio’s casinos are open. Casino gaming is Indiana’s third largest source of tax revenue behind sales and income taxes.

LINKS:

PNG Names New Hollywood Casino GM

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Hollywood Casino Opens In Toledo