Rocksino Races to Front of Regional Gambling Pack by JAY MILLER the Rocksino
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VOL. 38, NO. 33 AUGUST 14 - 20, 2017 Source Lunch Akron Welty Building Co. is becoming a huge player in region. Page 24 Robert Papone i, who The List leads The Literacy CLEVELAND BUSINESS Ohio’s largest public Cooperative Page 27 companies Page 22 ENTERTAINMENT Rocksino races to front of regional gambling pack By JAY MILLER the Rocksino. But it’s part of a pro- down Racino in North Randall, and gram of amenities that Rocksino it’s getting ready to introduce an [email protected] management is using to set itself electronic gaming concept at the @JayMiller apart from the competition — the downtown casino, designed to at- Jack Cleveland Casino in downtown tract younger bettors. e highest-volume gambling Cleveland and the Jack istledown SEE CASINOS , PAGE 25 hall in Ohio, with revenue in 2016 of Racino in North Randall. at think- $225.1 million, is getting into the ing is one reason Casino Player mag- business of pumping gas in the azine readers picked the Hard Rock $2.25-a-gallon range. Rocksino as the best overall gaming In October, the Hard Rock Rock- resort in Ohio in 2016. sino will open the RockStop Gas & Not that Jack Entertainment LLC, Wash in its parking lot along North- the gaming arm of Cleveland Cava- eld Road in the village of North- liers owner Dan Gilbert’s business eld in northern Summit County. realm, is standing still. e RockStop will never be a ma- “ e business is healthier than jor contributor to the bottom line of it’s ever been,” said Mark Tricano, Jack’s senior vice president for Northeast Ohio operations. e company recently completed a $70 million upgrade of its Jack istle- The Jack Cleveland Casino’s revenue dropped more than $9 million in 2016, to $203,594,737. (David Kordalski) FINANCE Strong commercial lending means opportunity for banks By JEREMY NOBILE business nationwide has tapered o Cleveland for commercial loans — tion offices. That includes San- sets, has seen year-over-year loan some since late 2016 and the presi- bank activity and overall demand dusky’s Civista Bank, which opened growth through the rst half of 2017 [email protected] dential election that spurred demand for which can be among the various a loan production office in West- of around 7%. @JeremyNobile by a sector anticipating a busi- indicators of an economy — has in- lake this spring. The bank also “For us, right now there seems to ness-friendly climate and economic fluenced several local banks’ push opened an office in Mayfield be a little more opportunity than Commercial lending remains rela- growth under President Donald toward the city itself, where there’s Heights in 2015, so the new office what was expected,” said chairman tively strong, and it has bankers look- Trump, banks are seeing steady de- a greater density of businesses to completes Civista’s goal of having a and CEO James Miller. “I do think ing for more opportunities in the mand here. serve. presence on both the east and west there’s a lot of opportunity. We’re Northeast Ohio market. And the opportunity to serve the Many are hiring new commercial sides of Cleveland. seeing a lot of positives right now.” While the commercial lending apparent demand around Greater bankers and opening loan produc- e bank, with $1.5 billion in as- SEE BANKING, PAGE 23 Entire contents © 2017 by Crain Communications Inc. Industry outlook: Technology << Can Northeast Ohio sustain a growing number of coding camps? Page 13 Virtual reality could be key tool. Page 16 Q&A with Bre Lindsey, president and CEO of Everstream Page 19 CONTENT SPONSORED BY NEWS AND TRENDS FROM NORTHEAST OHIO’S TECHNOLOGY SECTOR TECH MATTERS OHTec, RITE committed to building Northeast Ohio’s tech community OHTec strengthens industry connectivity RITE bridging gap between talent supply and demand HTec was founded as the Northeast linchpin to a robust regional economy overall. he talent crunch is an issue that 2009 as part of the Ohio Skills Bank initiative Ohio Soware Association in 1998, “Technology has changed and will continue vexes the IT industry regionally and aimed at eliminating the IT skills gap. With in- O with the goal of organizing events and to change everything,” said Paul Chaee, a T nationwide. Jobs in IT are abundant, kind support from Lorain County Community helping industry players succeed. In subsequent member of the OHTec board of advisers and but companies cannot nd qualied workers to College, RITE and its partners are fullling their years, the tech-focused economic development president of Soware Answers, a Brecksville- ll these positions. mission of preparing, attracting and matching group’s inuence spread. based soware developer that has been involved ere are anywhere from between three and 10 IT talent in Northeast Ohio. ose programs It established its signature Tech Week and with OHTec since it was founded. IT job ads for every college IT graduate. In 2016 include high school coding camps, career fairs, expanded its presence, serving as an advocate for “We learn from each other, and bringing alone, some 21,000 IT-related job ads were posted skills-based recruiting initiatives and community IT companies throughout the region on issues such technology people together and making this online within nine counties in the Cleveland, engagement for industry professionals. as workforce development, business development, a more tech-friendly area helps both the tech Akron, Canton and Wayne County MSAs. Additional workforce development solutions continuing education and collaboration. community and businesses,” he said. Meanwhile, the number of IT graduates has include: With nearly two decades of network-building Brainard envisions OHTec working more remained stagnant over the last ve years in n employers relaxing degree requirements under its belt, OHTec is concentrating on closely with some of the mature tech users, such as Northeast Ohio, according to Shanahan Re- to cast a wider net for skilled candidates; its role as a convener among American Greetings, Progressive sources, which has been con- n building innovative training programs tech companies of all sizes. As and Sherwin-Williams, to sulting with RITE on IT work- to address mid-level career needs; part of the Greater Cleveland facilitate that cohesion among force issues. n higher education institutions customizing Partnership and COSE (Council the tech community. RITE is analyzing the job degreed programs based on employer needs; of Smaller Enterprises), OHTec OHTec is augmenting its posting and labor market data n more alternative career pathway development; historically has focused on board to reect those eorts, to determine how to grow n recruiting more women and people smaller companies. Executive including the recent addition the bandwidth of a highly of color; director Dean Brainard said he Brainard Kavlick of Je Kavlick, president and skilled industry-responsive DeOreo n and more K-12 outreach. is working to integrate more middle market and CEO of Hudson-based soware development workforce. e organization is reaching out to larger companies to create more collaborations rm Moreland Connect. He hopes to help raise engage more partner employers, schools and Bill Blausey, senior vice president and CIO at and increase opportunities in the region. the industry’s visibility, so that Northeast Ohio other stakeholders to collaborate on workforce Eaton Corp., said more employer engagement “Every company is now a tech company,” said is regarded nationwide as a hub of IT activity development strategies, said RITE director in elementary, middle and high schools will Brainard, whose organization currently has and leadership. Courtney DeOreo. help shape the next generation’s career paths. about 650 members representing all facets of IT. “We have a lot of talent. e dry powder is “We want to look at all that data and turn it “We are a large organization with a vested “We want the entire ecosystem involved.” here,” Kavlick said. “If OHTec can align the into actionable information that will guide our IT interest. We have an obligation to students,” OHTec’s agship CIO symposiums (the next thought leaders, inuencers and motivators, we decisions,” she said. “We can’t do it without said Blausey, RITE board chairman. “ere’s so of which is Sept. 7) serve as just one vehicle for can really light the fuse.” industry participation. Employers must come much variety. It’s really exciting. You can be a more widespread engagement around IT. e As such, OHTec is forging deeper ties with together, identify their needs and voice them to nitty-gritty soware developer or a systems group also has rolled out intimate technology peer constituent groups such as RITE, a regional IT the education community.” analyst or engineer. ere are so many levers group meetings. ese roundtables enable C-suite talent development organization, to address the RITE’s members originally assembled in to pull.” leaders and IT employees to discuss critical topics IT talent shortage. such as product management, IT cybersecurity “We meet about once a week,” Brainard said. and bank lending for soware companies. “e collaborations with our workforce and For more coverage on Northeast Ohio’s tech industry, read the Tech Industry Outlook A strong and integrated tech community is the talent development partners are critical.” in this issue of Crain’s Cleveland Business. AUG. 15 SEPT. 13 SEPT. 14-15 Startup Scaleup 2017 — 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Gordon BioOhio: Harnessing Big Data — 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Industry 2017: The Product Conference — Square Arts District. This third annual community Conference Center at OCLC, 6600 Kilgour Place, Cleveland Public Auditorium, 500 Lakeside Ave., event invites local small business owners and Dublin. This Ohio bioscience industry group event Cleveland.