$30 million Daytona Beach Kennel Club and Poker Room opens

Club celebrates 60th anniversary with launch of 'Las Vegas-style' entertainment destination

The new $30 million Daytona Beach Kennel Club and Poker Room celebrated its grand opening June 2, offering Central Florida residents and tourists 50 poker tables and a variety of amenities for a "Las Vegas-style” experience.

The new complex — under construction on Williamson Road for more than a year and built to meet "green” building standards — replaces the club's longtime home adjacent to Daytona International Speedway.

Local dignitaries and representatives of global hospitality provider Delaware North Cos., which owns and operates the club, cut the ribbon on the new complex at a noon ceremony Monday.

The grand opening also marked the 60th anniversary of its June 2, 1948, opening at the original site.

First known as the Volusia County Kennel Club, the popular pari-mutuel racetrack added a 30-table poker room in 1997. But, in recent years, the facility could no longer accommodate its fast-growing poker audience or provide the type of amenities today's players are seeking.

"Although the old and new facilities are within a mile of each other, they're really worlds apart,” said Dan Francati, the club's president and general manager. "Now we're a real entertainment destination.”

Francati continued, "We're offering people a modern facility with state-of-the-art technology, a wide array of hospitality and dining, and a big-league poker room and other entertainment. It's more of a Las Vegas-style experience, which we think will attract more visitors for longer stays. We're changing with the times.”

The new 53,000-square-foot facility doubles the size of the poker room to accommodate 450 players. There are also a full-service restaurant, diverse concessions, and a state-of-the-art simulcast center with private betting carrels.

There, thanks to more than 260 televisions, patrons can track wagers on thoroughbred and greyhound races from around the country while viewing other sports action.


Beacon Online

News Added: 03 June, 2008

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