Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway Opens to the Public
The $411 million Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway had its grand opening last Friday. The new casino has created 1,000 new jobs and is expected to attract about 4 million visitors each year.
"Anything we can do to bring more entertainment to the area, and also for our fans, will help not only us but the overall region,"said Lesa France Kennedy chief executive of International Speedway Corp.(which owns and operates Kansas Speedway.)
"The group here has been so supportive and so interested in bringing tourism that it's made it really easy."
The new Kansas casino features a 95,000-square-foot gaming floor as well as a restaurant and bar that overlook turn two of the speedway, which will provide a great viewing space for the racetrack's two race weekends.
With the economic downturn affecting motorsports in the negative way it has, Kennedy is hopeful that exciting new entertainment options like the casino can help attract people back to the track.