Because required background checks on gaming operators and vendors are behind schedule, the openings of casinos in Cleveland and Toledo will be delayed at least eight weeks. The Cleveland casino was scheduled to open March 26 and the Toledo casino April 2. But these were dates set by the casinos themselves, not by the Ohio Casino Control Commission, who has final say on the matter. May or June is now the earliest either casino will open. Columbus and Cincinnati casinos openings, in late 2012 and 2013, are not affected. The commission has also recommended the Cleveland and Toledo casinos open at least two weeks apart.

The holdup: background checks. Casino operators objected to some of the background checks. As a result, applications for the Cleveland casino weren’t complete until December. They were due in September. With the Toledo casino, it is even worse. The application for Fortress Investment Group, a holding company for Penn National, has yet to be submitted. Filings for inside directors and stakeholders are expected by the end of the month. Once the background checks are complete, then the licensing process, which will take several weeks, must take place.

The impact to the bottom line is potentially significant, perhaps as much as $1.4 million per day, according to a Plain Dealer analysis. Then there are the 2,800 prospective employees who have been undergoing training at their own expense and now whose hiring is on indefinite hold.