Hollywood Casino Columbus

The casino at Hollywood Casino Columbus

Hollywood Casino Columbus is located in the western part of the city, near the intersection of West Broad Street and Interstate 270, aka the Jack Nicklaus Freeway. It is the largest casino in Ohio, both in terms of gambling space and the number of available games.

Across the 160,000-square-foot floor, you can find around 2,000 video slots and video poker machines, as well as more than 60 table games and a 34-table poker room. There’s also the Smoking and Gaming Patio, an 8,000-square-foot smoking-friendly area with around 200 machines, a bar, large TV screens and an entertainment stage.

Most promotions at Hollywood Casino Columbus are available through the mychoice rewards program, including bonus play, special benefits and prizes. However, the casino runs its own promotions from time to time, including various giveaways.

As of July 2022, the casino features a Wahlburgers burger chain, the only one in central Ohio. Mark Wahlberg also owns two car dealerships and an RV dealership near Hollywood Casino.

A hotel is coming to the casino soon, according to parent company Penn Entertainment. The company announced the project will cost about $100 million and will include 180 rooms. Construction on the attached hotel is planned to start in late 2023.

Slots and video poker

The nearly 2,000 video slot and video poker machines at Hollywood Columbus include both traditional favorites and the latest industry releases. The machines aim to meet a variety of bankroll sizes, starting from penny slots all the way up to $100 games.

Still, the most impressive thing about Hollywood Casino Columbus in Ohio is its range of progressives. There are around 800 progressive video slots and 18 progressive video poker machines. Here are the details of some of the casino’s most popular machines you can try your luck on:

• Dragon Link — Coming from Aristocrat’s lab, Dragon Link is a series of highly popular slots equipped with relatively small but rewarding progressive jackpots. Each Dragon Link title comes with the standard five-by-three layout and features 25 to 50 paylines. The games have similar gameplay, but each has a different theme. All four Dragon Link slots are available at Hollywood Casino Columbus — Happy & Prosperous, Panda Magic, Golden Century and Autumn Moon.
• Lightning Link — Lightning Link is another product of Aristocrat. All games, including Magic Pearl, Happy Lantern, High Stakes and Sahara Gold, are connected to the same jackpot. Each game in the series includes five reels and 50 paylines.
• Dollar Storm — Dollar Storm is the latest addition to Aristocrat’s Link series, and it features four games with varying themes — Emperor’s Treasure, Caribbean Gold, Egyptian Jewels and Ninja Moon. What’s special about this series is that apart from four standard jackpots (mini, minor, major and grand), you can also win the super grand jackpot.

Some other interesting video slots you may find on the casino floor include Ultra-Hot Mega Link, All Aboard, The Vault, Regal Riches, Happy 8’s Prosperity Boost, Lucky Ox, Make That Cash and Wolf Run Gold.

As for video poker, you’ll find four titles with multiple games available on each. The themed machines are High Roller Poker, Ultimate X Poker, Ultimate X Bonus Streak and All-Star Poker. Each of these contains popular variants, such as Deuces Wild, Bonus Poker and Jacks or Better, to name a few.

Table games

While you can stumble upon video slots at every turn at Hollywood Casino Columbus, there are quite a few table games, as well.

You can try your luck and test your skills on the casino’s 65 tables by playing classic games, such as blackjack, roulette, baccarat, craps and poker, with the addition of some niche games, like mini-baccarat, Face-Up Pai Gow and Crazy 4 Poker. Each poker game comes with an optional $1 side bet, which qualifies you for one of the three progressive jackpots, including the 100% minor (four of a kind), 100% major (straight flush) and 100% mega jackpot (royal flush).

You will also find a dedicated section with stadium-style electronic table games where you can sit at your own table and watch live dealers broadcast on a video wall.

Hollywood Casino Columbus poker room

The poker room in Hollywood Casino Columbus features 34 live tables running every day, from 10 a.m. to 4 a.m. Players can try Limit and No-Limit Texas Hold’em, Pot Limit Omaha and Limit Omaha Hi-Lo. There are also several Hollywood Casino Columbus poker tournaments organized every week, with buy-ins usually ranging from $50 to $200.

Mychoice rewards program

Mychoice is the rewards program available at all major casinos that Penn National Gaming operates. Members can receive benefits like cash prizes, tournament entries and bonus play by collecting points through playing the games and dining at participating restaurants.

For instance, you accrue one tier point for every $5 that you bet on video slots, $10 on video poker or $40 on electronic table games. There are five tier levels to the program:

• Choice (0 to 999 points)
• Advantage (1,000 to 17,999 points)
• Preferred (18,000 to 49,999 points)
• Elite (50,000 to 199,999 points)
• Owners Club (200,000+ points)

Each level comes with its own set of benefits, which may include things like VIP parking, personal host, priority access to promotions and events, bonus slot play, access to entertainment ticket presales, birthday dinners and more.

Does Hollywood Casino Columbus operate a sportsbook?

Legal sports betting is finally available in Ohio. Jan. 1, 2023 was the first day for legal sports betting in Ohio to go live. Hollywood Casino Columbus has its own sports betting lounge, a Barstool Sportsbook.

Hollywood Casino Columbus history and ownership

The era of modern casino gambling in Ohio started with voters approving a state constitutional amendment in November 2009. Under this amendment, four major Ohio cities — Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati and Toledo — received approval to host commercial casinos.

Hollywood Casino Columbus officially opened for business on Oct. 8, 2012. Gaming & Leisure Properties owns the casino, while Penn National Gaming serves as its license holder.

Over the last decade, Hollywood Casino Columbus has proven to be one of the highest-earning gambling establishments in Ohio, recording a revenue of $229.2 million in 2019, second only to MGM Northfield Park ($253.6 million). The casino also generated the highest ever July revenue in 2021, with $24 million.

Penn Entertainment, a Pennsylvania company, owns the casino.