Caesars took bragging rights in Ohio after regulators decided its downtown Cleveland location will be the first to open its doors. Rock Ohio Caesars can open its first phase in the week of May 14 – two weeks before the Penn National Gaming owned Hollywood Casino Toledo. Matt Schuler, Commission executive director, stated these dates are tentative and with the delays experienced in the past, it would be no surprise were they to change.
Executives in one county near Washington DC are ramping up plans for a casino business. Prince George County executive Rushern Baker wants a Las Vegas-scale venue along the Potomac River that would generate around $309.5million every year in county and state taxes.
“A destination that has the ability to attract people from not only the region, but from around the country, is the model that makes sense for Prince George’s County,” said Brad Frome, Baker’s deputy chief of staff. “And the place where this model can succeed is at National Harbor.”
The location has been talked up thanks to transport infrastructure already in place to deal with approximately six million visitors. In order for the plan to become a reality $1billion of investment and a local tax applied to table games needs to be introduced.
Proposals for a tribal casino business in Minneapolis have hit the buffers with it suffering from a lack of support. Key policymakers have yet to back White Earth Nation’s plans to build a casino that would fund a new stadium for the Minnesota Vikings. Erma Vizenor, the tribe’s spokesperson, told the Duluth News Tribune their casino “is the only solution that is fair to all Minnesotans.” She also claims that Governor Mark Dayton is on board with their plan – something denied by his office.
“To say he supports the plan is a bit of an overstatement,” Gov. Dayton’s spokesperson Katharine Tinucci said. “The governor has said all along that he is open to any good idea, but he does not think a metro-area casino should be linked to funding for a stadium, due mainly to the fact that it will likely be tied up in litigation for years, and is not a reliable source of funding.”
White Earth’s plan lacks support from any senators and it would be a surprise were it to advance any further.
