Casino for Downtown or Maybe a Quasi Casino

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   I was intrigued last night by the question from Mr. Hightower about putting a Casino in Downtown Middletown as part of bringing downtown back.   While a full fledged Casino may be to much, something more along the lines of what they did in Bangor, ME may be in order: 

Maine Slots Are Big Hit
In its first year of operation, Maine's first slot machine parlor had more than 860,000 visits by gamblers who placed more than half a billion dollars in wagers. 
Hollywood Slots at Bangor, which marked its first anniversary on Saturday, has drawn more customers and generated more revenues than expected. The state and the city of Bangor have received more than $17 million as their cuts from the operation. 
The Hollywood Slots facility is a temporary operation with 475 slot machines, a small restaurant and bar and little else for amenities. Penn National Gaming, who runs the operation, plans to replace the temporary Hollywood Slots facility with a permanent 116,000-square-foot casino with 1,000 slot machines and the capacity for 1,500. It'll have a hotel, three restaurants, an entertainment lounge, a gift shop and a parking garage for 1,500 vehicles.

This summer I went to this small city of about 30000 people with an average income less than Middletowns and to say the least this town was hustling and bustling along.  I also visited the temporary slot location while their permanent location was being built, it was interesting to say the least.

It is time for Ohio and Middletown  to wake up and think outside of the box.  Personally I don't see a downtown revival working unless you have some major draw other than some Art studios and sidewalk cafes, we must draw from outside of Middletown.

Yes there are always negatives with anything that is new, but they can be overcome.  Argosy over in Indiana is chugging along with many people from Ohio taking their hard earned money there.  The State runs its little gambling operation in the form of the State Lottery.

The key here is to think outside of the box in this new economy and not to just say NO all of the time.  

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Pacman Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Prominent MUSA Citizen Joined: Jun 02 2007 Status: Offline Points: 2612	Post Options Post Reply Quote Pacman Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Casino for Downtown or Maybe a Quasi Casino Posted: Nov 02 2007 at 9:34am
	I was intrigued last night by the question from Mr. Hightower about putting a Casino in Downtown Middletown as part of bringing downtown back. While a full fledged Casino may be to much, something more along the lines of what they did in Bangor, ME may be in order: Maine Slots Are Big Hit In its first year of operation, Maine's first slot machine parlor had more than 860,000 visits by gamblers who placed more than half a billion dollars in wagers. Hollywood Slots at Bangor, which marked its first anniversary on Saturday, has drawn more customers and generated more revenues than expected. The state and the city of Bangor have received more than $17 million as their cuts from the operation. The Hollywood Slots facility is a temporary operation with 475 slot machines, a small restaurant and bar and little else for amenities. Penn National Gaming, who runs the operation, plans to replace the temporary Hollywood Slots facility with a permanent 116,000-square-foot casino with 1,000 slot machines and the capacity for 1,500. It'll have a hotel, three restaurants, an entertainment lounge, a gift shop and a parking garage for 1,500 vehicles. This summer I went to this small city of about 30000 people with an average income less than Middletowns and to say the least this town was hustling and bustling along. I also visited the temporary slot location while their permanent location was being built, it was interesting to say the least. It is time for Ohio and Middletown to wake up and think outside of the box. Personally I don't see a downtown revival working unless you have some major draw other than some Art studios and sidewalk cafes, we must draw from outside of Middletown. Yes there are always negatives with anything that is new, but they can be overcome. Argosy over in Indiana is chugging along with many people from Ohio taking their hard earned money there. The State runs its little gambling operation in the form of the State Lottery. The key here is to think outside of the box in this new economy and not to just say NO all of the time.

Bill Rogers Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List MUSA Resident Joined: Apr 24 2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 225	Post Options Post Reply Quote Bill Rogers Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Nov 02 2007 at 11:32am
	A casino in Middletown would be amazing. Money, jobs, and good times. That might be the degenerate gambler in me speaking, though.

.308 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List MUSA Resident Joined: Aug 17 2007 Status: Offline Points: 192	Post Options Post Reply Quote .308 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Nov 02 2007 at 12:42pm
	Ever been to Metropolis Illinois? It reminds me a lot of Middletown. Except there is a bit Harrah's Casino there. It still reminds me a lot of Middletown. Enough said.

Bill Rogers Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List MUSA Resident Joined: Apr 24 2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 225	Post Options Post Reply Quote Bill Rogers Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Nov 02 2007 at 12:48pm
	Yeah, but it's Middletown with legalized gambling.

Pacman Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Prominent MUSA Citizen Joined: Jun 02 2007 Status: Offline Points: 2612	Post Options Post Reply Quote Pacman Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Nov 02 2007 at 1:01pm
	.308 you seem to favor doing nothing but...........................................

.308 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List MUSA Resident Joined: Aug 17 2007 Status: Offline Points: 192	Post Options Post Reply Quote .308 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Nov 02 2007 at 2:00pm
	I just wanted to point out that a casino and economic prosperity for the community do not follow as closely as some would lead us to believe.

John Beagle Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List MUSA Official Joined: Apr 23 2007 Location: Middletown Status: Offline Points: 1855	Post Options Post Reply Quote John Beagle Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Nov 02 2007 at 6:12pm
	Wow, slot machines in Middletown. What a concept. Too bad the state would never go along with it.
	John Beagle Middletown USA News of, for and by the people of Middletown, Ohio.

Pacman Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Prominent MUSA Citizen Joined: Jun 02 2007 Status: Offline Points: 2612	Post Options Post Reply Quote Pacman Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Nov 04 2007 at 4:38pm
	.308 you may be right. But the same can be said for Restaurants, Sidewalk Cafes, Art Galleries, etc. for the downtown area. The people of Middletown don't even support the few amenities that they have right now. Not a week goes by that another small office or business doesn't close or leave Middletown. I'll take the Casino idea with the caveat that it will not solve all the problems, but go a long way to improving Middletowns Future, over a downtown area designed and built basically for the Upper Middle Class and Upper Class, by the same people. Also in looking at Metropolis, IL there are a few differences between them and Middletown, Population wise 6000 compared to 52,000, Income wise $25k vs $36k and also we are not talking about Riverboat gambling here. That being all said Metropolis was taking in $450k a month in tax money back in the late 90's from gambling taxes.

Pacman Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Prominent MUSA Citizen Joined: Jun 02 2007 Status: Offline Points: 2612	Post Options Post Reply Quote Pacman Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Nov 04 2007 at 5:12pm
	In 2004 Indiana, Michigan and West Virginia combined took in approximately $1,000,000,000.00 in Tax Revenue from Gambling, with West Virgnia leading the way with the highest tax revenue. In an August 2005 study these areas in OH were studied for a gambling facility notice NO BUTLER COUNTY, http://ohiogaminginfo.org/documents/Ohio_Market_Assessment_Final_Report.pdf : Landbased Casinos (11) Cincinnati Hamilton County (2) Cleveland Cuyahoga County (2) Columbus Franklin County (2) Dayton Montgomery County (1) South Point Lawrence County (1) Steubenville Jefferson County (1) Toledo Lucas County (2) Race Track Casinos (7) River Downs Cincinnati - Hamilton County Thistledown Cleveland - Cuyahoga County Northfield Park Northfield - Summit County Scioto Downs Columbus - Franklin County Beulah Park Grove City Franklin County Lebanon Raceway Lebanon Warren County Raceway Park Toledo - Lucas County