The Owensboro Metropolitan Planning Commission has approved the final plans for a new Ellis Entertainment facility, Owensboro Racing and Gaming. The project, involving Churchill Downs Inc., is set to bring considerable development and revenue to Daviess County and is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Located at 460 Wrights Landing Road, the site will encompass more than 70,000 square feet and feature a casino equipped with 600 historical horse racing gaming machines, bars, restaurants and a café.
“It is an entertainment venue, and for those that enjoy games of chance, it will be a place for them to go, and they won’t have to go to the casino in French Lick or Evansville,” Daviess Co. Judge-Executive Charlie Castlen told 44News. “I think we will see more development in that area as satellite entities, whether they are restaurants or maybe a small hotel. Do I think a huge shopping mall or shopping center will pop up next door? Probably not, but only time will tell.”
At an estimated cost of $75 million, the facility is expected to create 150 jobs. The project comes as an extension of Ellis Park and represents a significant investment by Ellis Entertainment, a subsidiary of Churchill Downs.
This approval follows a previous change of plans for an original gaming facility intended for Owensboro’s Town Square Mall. The project was moved because of Owensboro’s stringent indoor smoking ordinances, leading Churchill Downs to opt for the Daviess County location, where regulations are less stringent.
“One of our meetings did address [the ordinances], and they had already researched and knew that our rules were already more friendly to them and their needs than the city of Owensboro’s were,” Castlen said. “There was really no dialogue about whether we would change our ordinance for them or not.”
