Gaming Control Board Awards License To Stadium Casino LLP Project In South Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA, PA:The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board today awarded a Category 2 license to Stadium Casino, LLP which will permit the operation of a casino at 900 Packer Avenue in Philadelphia. Stadium Casino, LLP is a joint venture between Greenwood Gaming & Entertainment, LP which currently operates the Parx Casino in Bucks County, Pennsylvania and the Cordish Companies which operates both the Maryland LIVE Casino near Annapolis, Maryland and the Xfinity LIVE entertainment complex in Philadelphia.

The award, made unanimously by the seven-member Board at a public meeting at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, is the fifth and last award of a Category 2 stand-alone casino license permitted under the Pennsylvania Race Horse Development and Gaming Act, which further stipulated that this facility must be located in Philadelphia.

The Board has previously awarded four Category 2 licenses in Bethlehem, Pittsburgh, Wilkes-Barre and Philadelphia. All are in operation.

The award concludes a process the Board began two years ago that started with the receipt of applications, a lengthy and in-depth background investigation of each applicant, public input from citizens, community groups and public officials, and additional evidence garnered at public hearings.

The three remaining applicants that were considered but not awarded the license were:

Tower Entertainment which proposed The Provence;
Market East Associates which proposed Market 8 Casino; and,
PHL Local Gaming LLC which proposed Casino Revolution

Prior to commencing operations, a $50 million license fee must be paid to the Commonwealth by Stadium Casino, LLP for a slot machine license along with an additional $24.75 million fee for a Table Games certification.

“This was a challenging decision involving four substantial proposals, but in the end we all felt that the Stadium Casino project best fit the intent of the Gaming Act and was best overall for Pennsylvania,” said Board Chairman William H. Ryan, Jr.

Ryan added that the final Order of the Board on this matter along with the Adjudication setting forth the reasons for the Board’s decision and detailing the reasons for granting Stadium Casino, LLP a gaming license would be issued by the close of business today via the Board’s web site, www.gamingcontrolboard.pa.gov.

Under the Gaming Act, any party to the licensing proceedings would have 30 days from the date of the issuance of the Order and Adjudication to file an appeal of the Board’s decision to the State Supreme Court. The parties with standing would include all losing applicants in this licensing decision as well as any other party which was granted intervention in the proceedings.

With today’s decision, the Board has now awarded 13 licenses with 12 casinos in operation. Of those, there are six Category 1 licensed facilities at horse race tracks and four Category 2 stand alone casinos, all of which can operate up to 5,000 slot machines and 250 table games. In addition, two Category 3 casinos located at existing resorts are in operation. Those can operate a maximum of 600 slot machines and 50 table games. The Gaming Act permits one additional license at this time, to a qualified licensed harness race track. There is currently a holder of that license in Lawrence County which has submitted an application for that remaining license. There is no timetable for considering that award.

About the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board:

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board was established in 2004 with the passage of Act 71, also known as the Race Horse Development and Gaming Act. Pennsylvania’s first new state agency in nearly 30 years, the Gaming Control Board is tasked to oversee all aspects of the state’s casino industry. The 10 stand-alone and racetrack casinos in operation, along with the two resort casinos, collectively employ over 17,700 people within their facilities and generate an average of $4 million per day in tax revenue from slot machine and table games play. A portion of that money is used for property tax reduction to all Pennsylvania homeowners; provide funds to the Commonwealth’s horse racing industry, fire companies, a statewide water and sewer project grant program, and the state’s General Fund; and, established a new stream of tax revenue to local governments that host casinos for community projects.

A wealth of information about the Gaming Control Board’s regulatory efforts and Pennsylvania’s gaming industry can be found at www.gamingcontrolboard.pa.gov. At this website, visitors can watch Board meetings live or view videos of past meetings, look up future meeting schedules and past meeting transcripts, obtain information on identifying a gambling problem and gaining assistance, access an interactive map of casino locations, request a speaker for their group, along with much more information. You can also follow the agency on Twitter by choosing @PAGamingControl.

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