Operator News
US – Cordish’s Stadium Casino wins race to build second casino in Philadelphia
By Phil - 25 January 2018
Stadium Casino will construct a second, ‘mini casino’ in Philadelphia, having been the highest of four bidders with a bid of over $40m.
Stadium Casino is a joint venture between the Cordish Companies and Greenwood Gaming & Entertainment, which currently operates the Parx Casino in Bucks County.
A Category 4 Slot Machine License would permit the entity to operate between 300 and 750 slot machines. The entity could also petition for permission to initially operate up to 30 table games for an additional fee of $2.5m with the capability of adding an additional 10 tables games after its first year of operation.
Stadium Casino is the same operator behind the plan to build the $600m Live! Hotel & Casino Philadelphia, pictured, which will open in 2020 in the stadium district of South Philadelphia. With a Category 2 license, it will house a much bigger quota of 2,000 slot machines and 125 table games.
This was the second in a series of auctions held by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board in a process that establishes the order in which the winning bidders select a location for a Category 4 casino.
The center of the Category 4 location, which is an area 30 miles in diameter, chosen by Stadium Casino, is located in Derry Township in Westmoreland County.
Travis Lamb, Chief Financial Officer of Cordish explained that the mini-casino would be close to Greensburg due to its proximity to the Pittsburgh market.
He said: “We look at this as a great opportunity for Stadium Casino to grow in the state of Pennsylvania.
Mr Lamb added that the company saw no problems in developing two casinos at the same time in the same state.
Stadium Casino is required to pay the bid price to the Commonwealth within two business days, and then has up to six months to submit an application for the Category 4 Slot Machine License.
The application will contain the precise site of the proposed Category 4 casino, as well as detailed plans and information concerning the proposed building plan, amenities, employment projections and other related information. Once the application is received and determined to be complete, the Board will post public information about the project on its website for interested persons to review.
In the first auction held on January 10, 2018, Mountainview Thoroughbred Racing Association, LLC, which operates Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course, was the high bidder with a bid of over $50m. The center of that Category 4 location is located in the Borough of Yoe in York County.
Both Mountainview Thoroughbred Racing Association and Stadium Casino, LLC are ineligible to bid on additional Category 4 locations during the initial round of auctions. The Gaming Control Board could hold a subsequent round if all 10 available licenses are not auctioned off. If that occurs, successful bidders in the initial round could compete for additional Category 4 casino locations.
