Harrah’s Philadelphia, six miles outside of Philadelphia in Chester, Pennsylvania, has received permission from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board to remove 563 slot machines from its floor. The reduction adjusts the machine count—once nearly 3,000 machines—to 1,700.
The reason Harrah’s officials gave the gaming board for the reduction was that the higher number was no longer optimal in the face of increased competition, and that the cost of operating them did not justify retaining the older, under-utilized machines.
Officials also noted that it creates better social distancing between customers with no loss of revenue, and it expects no loss of revenue or staffing from removing some of its older, under-utilized machines.
“The new layout will provide a more comfortable gaming environment for our guests and we do not anticipate any revenue loss from this reduction,” Harrah’s officials said in requesting the reduction.
The final game count of 1,700 is still higher than the 1,300 offered when capacity was limited due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf lifted all restrictions earlier this month.
