Operator News
US – Miami Valley opens with 1,600 VLTs
By Phil - 13 December 2013
Miami Valley Gaming, a joint venture of gaming and hospitality leader Delaware North Companies Gaming & Entertainment and legendary Churchill Downs Incorporated (CDI), officially opened its doors to 1000s of residents from the Dayton and Cincinnati regions of southwest Ohio on December 12.
Despite freezing morning temperatures, a large crowd of several thousand people became the first guests at Miami Valley Gaming, Ohio’s newest gaming venue. The facility features 1,600 of the gaming industry’s newest video lottery terminals; a racing simulcast center, broadcasting races from around the country; and a 5/8-mile harness racetrack. The racetrack, which will open in February to replace Lebanon Raceway, will accommodate more than 1,000 harness-racing fans in an indoor grandstand.
“The local community has been continually supportive of Miami Valley Gaming, and we’re pleased we can finally welcome guests to this new, regional entertainment destination,” said Jim Simms, President and General Manager of Miami Valley Gaming, who was joined today by CDI and Delaware North executives and state and local government officials for a ribbon-cutting ceremony. “We hope that our comfortable restaurants, bars, gaming and racing and entertainment options will keep guests coming back. It is a great accomplishment to open our doors, and we hope that Miami Valley Gaming will only increase the region’s status as Ohio’s Largest Playground.”
Just off of I-75 at Exit 29, Miami Valley Gaming is located about midway between Dayton and Cincinnati.
“The opening of Miami Valley Gaming is a truly exciting moment for Delaware North Companies and Churchill Downs Incorporated, partners in bringing a world-class gaming, racing and entertainment complex to Southwest Ohio,” said Brian Hansberry, president of Delaware North Companies Gaming & Entertainment. “We are confident that people in the Dayton and Cincinnati areas and communities in between will discover this convenient, elegant and comfortable destination and all it has to offer.”
“The collaboration between the Delaware North and Churchill Downs design teams produced a stunning facility that all of Ohio can be proud of,” said Austin Miller, CDI’s senior vice president of gaming operations. “We are not only adding another great entertainment destination to southwest Ohio, but also with it, new tax revenues and jobs to the region. The Miami Valley Gaming facility was designed with service, fun and entertainment in mind. We built all of the latest technology and gaming machines into this great facility, and the excitement will continue when we open the grandstand and track to Ohio’s harness-horse racing community and fans in a few months. We invite all Ohioans to come out and enjoy the property and all of its amenities.”
The facility is expected to generate at least $24m per year for local communities and provide more than 500 jobs in the region.
