You're watching...
Timothy Wilmott, Penn National Gaming COO & president, on the company’s purchase of Harrah’s St. Louis from Caesar’s and the casinos it is b...
Also in this playlist...
Auto-advance: ON
Auto-advance
This transcript is automatically generated
The latest debt.
While Penn National Gaming announcing this week kids buying -- -- -- -- for 610 million dollars this.
As a company gets ready -- open to casinos in Ohio.
Bringing more than 3000.
Jobs to the Buckeye State Tim will -- president and chief operating officer of Penn National Gaming joining me now.
All I guess.
-- is it fair to say the gambling industry certainly growing at a time when the economy.
Isn't is there a connection between the two of people -- -- to gamble right now.
Well there clearly is when you look at actually.
What's happened recently with the recession we're able to pass a statewide referendum in November of 2009 here in Ohio.
To allow for large land based casinos in the four big cities.
And were able to pass that state -- because unemployment was high in the state was in need for new revenue sources.
And we're able to.
Open up casinos now in Toledo and Cleveland that will open up the next couple weeks.
And then later this year were up my company's gonna be opening up in Columbus and you know when you have tough economic times our industry is often look look at from states is a way to stimulate the economy.
You mentioned state taxes what kind of money is generated by these casinos so to the benefit of the state.
Well we believe -- we get up and running here in Ohio for example the tax treaties the state gets 33% right off the top end of our revenues and it's gonna generate north of one point five billion dollars annually.
That's a lot of money 3000 jobs -- -- jobs are we talking about.
Well we're gonna be opening up in a couple weeks on May twenty ninth in Toledo with 12100.
Employees.
Mostly hospitality jobs dealers food servers cocktail servers.
The average the average salary with tips is about 40000 dollars a year that comes on top of benefits.
And in Columbus we're gonna be employing about 2000 people.
If you look at an area like Toledo we're gonna be opening up -- we had over 30000 applicants to -- 400 jobs so certainly.
Northwest Ohio is in need of of operations like ourselves creating these jobs and how -- these wages compared to other jobs Tim and they are generally pretty good.
They're they're actually a little bit higher than the average in northwest Ohio right now.
And you know we offer and operations that's 24/7 so.
We're also able to afford people that want to work a second job to work part time with us on weekends that's what were the busiest so.
We offer some flexibility in our work schedules as well and I hadn't -- other than Ohio this year in many other places new trying to set up shop in Massachusetts is that right.
Well Massachusetts just pass legislation to allow three.
Land based casinos in different parts of the state plus they ever see -- operation attached to a race track.
We're interest statin in the license in the western zone in and around Springfield Massachusetts.
And will be one of a number of bidders for that license and I think probably in -- 2013.
2014 time period.
Will know whether or not we get selected.
It's nice to talk about an industry actually creating jobs Tim a lot of Penn National Gaming Tim thank you so much for joining us really appreciate it thank you -- after that it isn't my.
