Cleveland’s downtown casino and related racino at Thistledown are in a new phase without Dan Gilbert, who led the 2009 voter drive to legalize gambling in Ohio and open the state’s first casino in downtown Cleveland in 2012.
JACK Entertainment confirmed Wednesday that the management team had bought Gilbert’s ownership interests, a deal that closed in December without a formal announcement and so quietly that visitors never would have noticed a difference.
Business of late has largely mirrored that of the other casinos and racinos in the state – down sharply overall in 2020, the result of coronavirus-related closings and restrictions on hours, yet robust when fully open. The industry statewide had record performances in 2020 for months when permitted to be open round-the-clock, both before and after the full closings during the spring.
Matt Cullen, chairman of JACK Entertainment, said it has “been a really challenging year” since the outbreak of the virus.
