Pennsylvania’s already massive gambling market has received yet another big boost thanks to a recent move by the state’s gambling control board. Members of the gaming control board unanimously voted to award a Category 4 casino license to the W Cumberland Op. Co., (Greenwood Gaming & Entertainment, Inc, operator of Parx Casino). This will allow the gaming operator to construct a Satellite casino in the Shippensburg Township of the County.
This decision has been a long time coming considering that Greenwood Gaming and Entertainment, Inc. expressed interest in setting up a casino. It did this by securing the right to a casino license through a winning bid of a whopping $8,111,000 at the state’s fourth Category 4 casino license auction.
Initially, the mini-casino was to be located just off Exit 27 of Route 81. However, the operator later changed its stance on this. Its focus was now on the former Lowe’s Home Supply store in the Shippen Town Center.
All Set to Go
Like in the case of all casino establishments in the state, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) needed to do a bit of due diligence. In addition to an in-depth background. Check, the gaming regulator also ensured community involvement. That included asking the residents for their inputs, listening to concerns raised by community groups and speaking to public officials.
The final hearing was held on January 19, 2022. It involved the board listening to the operator’s representatives before finally deciding to green-light the development. Now it is up to the company to decide what its next steps will be.
What to Expect
Category 4 casinos in the Keystone State have been around for no more than a couple of years but they are already proving to be a lucrative venture. Even though interest in new licenses has dwindled, there is a lot of optimism about what existing licenses will be bringing to the table.
On its 73,000 square foot space, Parx Casino Shippensburg plans to add up to a whopping 500 slot machines, electronic table games, a sports bar, and even a restaurant. Those are very impressive offerings that will certainly resonate with both the residents and the township’s residents.
As if that is not enough, the casino is set to create construction jobs as well as over 125 jobs once it goes live. As it stands, the target opening date for the facility is late 2022. The township also expects to make quite a bit of tax revenue that it can channel towards various local initiatives.
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