Penn Entertainment to Open New Hotel at Hollywood Casino Columbus on June 12
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Penn Entertainment plans to open a new hotel tower at Hollywood Casino Columbus on June 12, pending standard regulatory approvals.
LISTEN TO THIS ARTICLE:The expansion gives players and overnight guests a larger on-site option while strengthening the property’s position in Ohio’s regional entertainment market.
Reservations are scheduled to open on April 15 through the Hollywood Casino Columbus website. Penn also plans a public opening-day celebration featuring an outdoor festival and live concert.
New Tower Adds 203 Rooms and More Amenities
The new structure will add 203 rooms to the property and marks one of the most visible upgrades at the west Columbus casino in recent years. The tower will include 183 standard guestrooms and 20 luxury suites, giving the property a new hospitality component it previously lacked at this scale.
Penn says the hotel will span about 150,000 square feet and include several guest-focused amenities. These include The Hill Eatery & Lounge, a full-service restaurant and bar inside the tower, as well as conference rooms, a fitness center and an outdoor terrace for guest seating.
For visitors, the expansion means the casino is no longer just a same-day gaming stop. It becomes a more complete stay-and-play destination, with space for overnight trips, events and longer visits.
Penn Sees Columbus as a Bigger Entertainment Hub
In announcing the opening date, Penn Entertainment President and CEO Jay Snowden framed the hotel as part of a wider effort to build stronger regional destinations. “We’re thrilled to officially announce the opening date for our new hotel in Columbus, which positions us to be the top entertainment destination in the region”, Snowden said.
He also tied the project to Penn’s broader development strategy across the country. “This opening will mark our third retail development project to be completed in under a year, building on the momentum from our new casino in Joliet and second hotel tower at the M Resort”, Snowden added.
That context matters. Penn is not treating the Columbus hotel as a stand-alone addition. It is part of a wider push to deepen the appeal of its land-based properties at a time when operators are trying to create more reasons for customers to stay longer and spend across gaming, dining and entertainment.
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Jobs and a Public Launch Event
The hotel project is expected to create around 100 jobs in the Columbus area, mainly in guest services and hotel operations. To support hiring, Hollywood Casino Columbus plans to hold job fairs on March 27 and April 10.
Penn is also preparing a more public-facing launch. The company says June 12 will include a celebration on the property with an outdoor festival and live music, a sign that it wants the opening to feel bigger than a routine hotel debut.
That approach fits the property’s broader strategy. Hollywood Casino Columbus already operates 24 hours a day and includes about 160,000 square feet of gaming space, slot machines, table games, a retail sportsbook and what the company describes as the largest poker room in Ohio.
More Expansion Still Ahead
The hotel is not the only change planned for the property. Penn says Hollywood Casino Columbus is also preparing to add a larger high-limit table games room in the second half of 2026, subject to the necessary approvals.
The Columbus project sits within a wider pipeline of developments for Penn Entertainment. In 2025, the company opened a new land-based casino in Joliet, Illinois, and completed a second hotel tower at M Resort Spa Casino in Las Vegas. It also expects to open a new Hollywood Casino Aurora property in Illinois later this year, while a land-based casino project in Council Bluffs, Iowa is targeted for late 2027 or early 2028.
Penn now operates casinos, racetracks and online gaming platforms across 27 jurisdictions in North America, supported by its PENN Play loyalty program, which has more than 33 million members.
For Columbus, the June opening is more than another construction milestone. It signals a shift in how Hollywood Casino Columbus wants to compete: not just as a gaming floor, but as a fuller entertainment destination built to keep guests on property longer.
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