Former Auto Plant Purchased by Penn Gaming to Use as Casino
Moving quickly with new Pennsylvania legislation that has opened the doors wide open for local casino development in order to fight the recession and get the state budget back on track, Penn National Gaming Inc. has recently announced that it purchased what was once an automotive manufacturing plant in Columbus, Ohio so that it can build a casino at the site. While the cost of the purchase is not known, with over 123 acres that once belonged to a pairing of automobile industry giants Delphi Automotive and General Motors as a manufacturing plant, the site is expected to have cost somewhere in the multiple millions of dollars at the very least. Industry experts speculate that the site was chosen due to its existing facilities which may be able to be modified to out fit some portions of the planned casino and the fact that much of the facility is already paved to add value by reducing the amount of pavement that would be needed to create substantial parking spaces for casino guests.
This is not the first time that Penn National Gaming has invested in Columbus, having purchased twenty four acres in the Arena District of the city earlier in 2009. Ohio approved the casino due to the revenue it will bring in to ease state budget woes and the new facility alone is planned with a budget of $400 million, to be voted on in May. The facility intended for Columbus will be known as the Hollywood Casino Columbus and will need a state amendment in order for it to be built over the auto plant, something company lawyers are lobbying for with extreme dedication.