The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board hosted local residents, business owners and elected officials at a public hearing on a mini-casino planned by Ira Lubert and his SC Gaming, LLC for a Category 4 mini-casino at the Nittany Mall in Centre County, near State College and the campus of Pennsylvania State University.
Lubert, a Penn State alumnus and sole official of SG Gaming, won the license at the first auction open to bidders outside of current casino licensees. Category 4 casinos, limited to 750 slots and 40 table games, were originally available only as satellites to current Category 1 (racino) and Category 2 (stand-alone casino) licensees.
At the meeting, Lubert said the casinos can reinvigorate the Nittany Mall and create new business for the surrounding area.
“This in turn will create jobs and help drive the region’s economy,” Lubert told the board, according to the Centre Daily Times. “And with Penn State’s immense alumni base and other visitors flooding into the area throughout the year, not just football season, we will provide a new entertainment venue that everyone can enjoy.”
Eric Pearson, the prospective casino’s CEO, gave an overview of the project and timeline. Bally’s Corp. has partnered with Lubert to design, develop, construct and manage the casino.
The proposed 94,000-square-foot casino has a $123 million budget. They would use the existing structure of Macy’s, which is about 94,000 square feet. Construction would take about a year. It also would include a sportsbook and a sports-themed restaurant and bar with live entertainment, and a multi-outlet food court.
“We really envision the casino being able to serve as a catalyst for revitalization within the Nittany Mall, which is currently at about 50 percent occupied,” Pearson said. “As you’re well aware, the Nittany Mall… has become more and more vacant as businesses there have made a mass exit. This facility, once a community asset, is no longer drawing people from outside the area,” said Mark Long, district manager for Rep. Kerry Benninghoff. “Representative Benninghoff applauds the effort to repurpose this space and make it more vibrant while finding ways to keep local people employed and our economy moving ahead.”
Local officials who spoke at the hearing echoed the positive sentiment. Some residents spoke out against the proposed casino, generally offering familiar arguments normally seen in new gaming jurisdictions, such as concerns over low-income people gambling, and moral objections by religious groups.
