The Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway will open Feb. 3 in Kansas City, Kan. The casino is shown in this photo on Jan. 30, the day that a controlled demonstration was held. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)

   The Hollywood Casino at the Kansas Speedway on Thursday got the final go-ahead from the state of Kansas to open Friday, Feb. 3.

   The new $411 million casino will open to the public at 11:45 a.m. Friday, after a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 11 a.m. Special guests invited to participate in the ribbon-cutting will be NASCAR drivers Kasey Kahne and Clint Bowyer.

   The Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission Thursday certified the casino to open to the public on Friday, said Richard Petersen-Klein, executive director of the commission, in a news release.

   "Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission staff worked diligently with the staff and managers of the Hollywood Casino at the Kansas Speedway for several months to establish and approve the internal control procedures necessary to achieve regulatory compliance and ensure the highest level of integrity of gaming in Kansas in order for the casino to conduct a live play controlled demonstration on Monday, January 30, 2012," Petersen-Klein said. "Our staff observed that controlled demonstration and the Hollywood Casino's staff and systems demonstrated a level of proficiency sufficient to satisfy regulatory compliance and ensure gaming integrity." 

   Enforcement agents from the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission are on site at the Hollywood Casino at all times, according to a spokesman. The final certification allows the Hollywood Casino to proceed with announced plans to open to the public on Friday, Feb. 3.

The new $411 million Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway opens at 11:45 a.m. Friday, Feb. 3. The casino is near the intersection of I-70 and I-435 in Kansas City, Kan. (Staff photo by Mary Rupert)