The Hollywood Park Casino (HPC) in Inglewood has confirmed its grand opening for October 21, 2016 and will be giving away $1 million in prizes as part of its celebrations. The HPC will also be giving its first 1,000 patrons a chance to win commemorative coins and free HPC memorabilia. The casino will also host a special poker tournament on October 22 and has kept the guest list confidential for now. A number of celebrities including William Shatner, Jason Alexander and Ben Affleck have been spotted at the HPC in the past.

The HPC casino initially opened in 1994 and also featured a race track which closed down in 2013. The casino has struggled during the last couple of years to compete with other neighboring casinos who have invested heavily to upgrade their facilities. The Bicycle Casino in Bell Gardens spent $50 million to renovate its property and add a number of new facilities such as a hotel with 99 rooms, a spa, an outdoor pool deck and a restaurant. The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians spent $50 million to renovate their casino in Highland adding an Asian-themed gaming room and increasing the size of the VIP gaming room.

As a result, HPC was losing customers to these new upgraded casino facilities which prompted owners Stockbridge Capital Group to make a major investment and move the HPC to a bigger and better facility next door. The HPC now becomes one of the first projects to launch near Inglewood’s City of Champions Revitalization Project, a project that is meant to transform the area, bring in more visitors and boost the local economy. A $1.86 billion stadium is being built next to the HPC for the Los Angeles Rams to play in and the HPC will look to target sports fans once the stadium opens in 2019. The Super Bowl is also scheduled to take place at this new stadium in 2022.

In a statement, Deven Kumar, general manager of the Hollywood Park Casino said “Revitalizing this facility, with all of its history and memories, will make HPC the premier casino and entertainment destination in Southern California. This revitalization plan brings with it more jobs, new properties for residents and visitors to enjoy and explore, as well as increased revenue for our city; all without using any tax dollars for any of the construction. It’s a win-win for Inglewood”.

The new HPC facility is just a few minutes away from LAX Airport and Downtown Los Angles and is 40 percent bigger than the old facility. The new facility is built on 10.6 acres and has a gaming floor of 110,000 square feet, has 65 California tables, 60 poker tables and has a 20 percent increase in VIP gaming area. The new facility does not have fine dining options but has a fresh fare American diner called the Century Bar & Grill and the Raise Lounge. The HPC property also has a four storey parking space that can accommodate 1,600 vehicles.