Commissioners heard from Global Gaming LLC, the only gaming entity with a proposal at Wellington’s Exit 19, as they seek endorsement in the State-owned casino process.
Chief Executive Officer John Elliott said Wellington was a prime location for the Sumner County casino because it was the center of Sumner County, it was immediately adjacent to I-35, the infrastructure was already available to the site, it would create the most job creation in the County, the zoning would be completed by Aug. 19 and there was no noticeable difference in gaming revenue from Exit 33 to Exit 19.
The facility will be approximately 200,000 square feet with 1,300 electronic games, 40 black jack tables, 20 poker tables, a 1,400-seat entertainment and events center, 80-room hotel and six restaurants and bars.
The casino would be located on roughly 80 acres and construction will be scalable for future phases, which will include a total of 2,000 games, a second hotel, parking garage, and RV park. Global Gaming would work with Wellington KOA to extend the RV capacity to the casino site.
A 3,000 square foot public safety facility would also be put in place for the Wellington Police and Fire Departments as well as the Sumner County Sheriff’s Department. Other safety measures would include traffic lights, acceleration and deceleration lanes.
The casino would also have the ability to control an additional 420 acres of adjoining land for future development.
In all, the project would create 1,000 direct jobs in Sumner County and would use about 350 local subcontractors and labor in the 14 months the facility will need to be constructed, Elliott said.
Elliott said the casino would work with Emerging Brands, known for creating such restaurant brands as Jimmy’s Egg and Old Chicago, to give the casino its own flair when it comes to food venues. Global gaming would also work with New Century Development to build a third-party hotel on site.
Global Gaming has big plans for Wellington, Elliott said and among them are two big projects that would not only improve the community, but bring in more visitors and more revenue to the casino and County.
The first project would be to partnership with the Wellington Golf Course to be used as an add-on to events at the casino. Elliott said the course would get a new club house and upgraded greens to bring it into first-class standing. Approximately $3 million would be spent in the improvements, Elliott said.
A second local partnership could bring a world-class racetrack to the facility. Rick Hamlin of Wellington, who works to restore vintage automobiles, presented the idea to the commissioners.
The idea is to build a road-racing course that would support three different tracks — a 2.7 miles, 2.3 mile and 1.6 mile — for sports cars, including NASCAR, vintage cars, motorcycles or “just about anything that lends to racing.”
The goal is to have an international track where vintage and high-class cars and legends of racing can compete and show their skills.
“There is nothing close to us with in 1,000 miles of what they are trying to do,” said Hamlin.
“We think it’s potentially a very high quality add to the facility to make it a destination because it’s an internationally, nationally recognized sport which has big coverage rights,” said Elliott.
After Commissioner Eldon Gracy asked why they were interested in Wellington, the Global Gaming executive said the interest at Exit 19 is a no-brainer.
“The first one, is that we have very strong available community support and we feel very strongly that that’s important and an important consideration when you work in a community. We felt that the site was just free from issues...all of these things highlight our decision as I said earlier in the presentation, we simply do not buy the argument that there are gaming revenue differentials between a 10-mile stretch of I-35 corridor...” said Elliott.
For the latest casino news, check back with www.wellingtondailynews.com.
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Commissioners heard from Global Gaming LLC, the only gaming entity with a proposal at Wellington’s Exit 19, as they seek endorsement in the State-owned casino process.
Chief Executive Officer John Elliott said Wellington was a prime location for the Sumner County casino because it was the center of Sumner County, it was immediately adjacent to I-35, the infrastructure was already available to the site, it would create the most job creation in the County, the zoning would be completed by Aug. 19 and there was no noticeable difference in gaming revenue from Exit 33 to Exit 19.
The facility will be approximately 200,000 square feet with 1,300 electronic games, 40 black jack tables, 20 poker tables, a 1,400-seat entertainment and events center, 80-room hotel and six restaurants and bars.
The casino would be located on roughly 80 acres and construction will be scalable for future phases, which will include a total of 2,000 games, a second hotel, parking garage, and RV park. Global Gaming would work with Wellington KOA to extend the RV capacity to the casino site.
A 3,000 square foot public safety facility would also be put in place for the Wellington Police and Fire Departments as well as the Sumner County Sheriff’s Department. Other safety measures would include traffic lights, acceleration and deceleration lanes.
The casino would also have the ability to control an additional 420 acres of adjoining land for future development.
In all, the project would create 1,000 direct jobs in Sumner County and would use about 350 local subcontractors and labor in the 14 months the facility will need to be constructed, Elliott said.
Elliott said the casino would work with Emerging Brands, known for creating such restaurant brands as Jimmy’s Egg and Old Chicago, to give the casino its own flair when it comes to food venues. Global gaming would also work with New Century Development to build a third-party hotel on site.
Global Gaming has big plans for Wellington, Elliott said and among them are two big projects that would not only improve the community, but bring in more visitors and more revenue to the casino and County.
The first project would be to partnership with the Wellington Golf Course to be used as an add-on to events at the casino. Elliott said the course would get a new club house and upgraded greens to bring it into first-class standing. Approximately $3 million would be spent in the improvements, Elliott said.
A second local partnership could bring a world-class racetrack to the facility. Rick Hamlin of Wellington, who works to restore vintage automobiles, presented the idea to the commissioners.
The idea is to build a road-racing course that would support three different tracks — a 2.7 miles, 2.3 mile and 1.6 mile — for sports cars, including NASCAR, vintage cars, motorcycles or “just about anything that lends to racing.”
The goal is to have an international track where vintage and high-class cars and legends of racing can compete and show their skills.
“There is nothing close to us with in 1,000 miles of what they are trying to do,” said Hamlin.
“We think it’s potentially a very high quality add to the facility to make it a destination because it’s an internationally, nationally recognized sport which has big coverage rights,” said Elliott.
After Commissioner Eldon Gracy asked why they were interested in Wellington, the Global Gaming executive said the interest at Exit 19 is a no-brainer.
“The first one, is that we have very strong available community support and we feel very strongly that that’s important and an important consideration when you work in a community. We felt that the site was just free from issues...all of these things highlight our decision as I said earlier in the presentation, we simply do not buy the argument that there are gaming revenue differentials between a 10-mile stretch of I-35 corridor...” said Elliott.
For the latest casino news, check back with www.wellingtondailynews.com.
