Hamburg Casino celebrates grand opening

HAMBURG, N.Y. (WIVB) - There's a new place to play in Hamburg if you like casino games.

There's more to do than gamble at the new Hamburg Casino, which held its official grand opening Thursday morning.

They cut the ribbon on the casino Thursday morning. Gaming is at the heart of the new $25 million facility. It had a soft opening during last month's Erie County Fair. The casino features slot machines. It includes a banquet facility for meetings and private parties, and plenty of places to eat.

General Manager Ellsworth Gaskill said, "We have our machines all on one level now, comfortable, in a nice area, more space between the aisles for our customers, and overall it's a facility that was built and designed for our customers, and hopefully we'll be able to grow."

The building is optimized to use less energy. The casino is adding about 30 jobs to handle the expanded operations, bringing the work force to 280 people.