The Ohio Casino Control Commission gave the go-ahead yesterday for the Cleveland and Toledo casinos to open in May. The Cleveland casino gets the honor of being the first to open the week of May 14th. The Toledo casino will follow two weeks later the week of May 28th. Dates are still tentative, dependent on whether any additional snafus arise.

The vote to open Cleveland first was a 5-1 vote, with Toledo attorney Peter Silverman casting the only ‘no’ vote. Silverman had suggested a coin toss to decide who would open first, but that idea was nixed. Disagreement over the background checks was the deterrent for the Toledo casino. Rock Ohio, owner of the Cleveland casino had their licensing and background check paperwork filed by mid-November of last year. Penn National, owner of the Toledo casino did not complete their paperwork until the end of January.

There is still much to be done before the casinos actually open their doors. Background checks still need to be completed, gaming rules and regulations need to be finished, licenses for casino workers need to be issued, security details need to be finalized and testing and installation of the slot machines needs to be completed.