Cordish Companies’ Stadium Casino, now the sole owner of the license for Philly Live! Hotel & Casino, has told state lawmakers that Stadium’s planned Category 4 satellite casino in vacant anchor store at Westmoreland Mall in Western Pennsylvania is likely to open well before the Category 2 stand-alone casino that is the primary licensee.
In an interview with the Pittsburgh Tribune Review, Pennsylvania state Senator Kim Ward said she has met with representatives of Baltimore-based Cordish Companies, and said the satellite mini-casino, with 750 slot machines and 40 table games, could open its doors with in a year. “They said that if everything goes smoothly, it could be open by the end of 2019,” Ward said.
Stadium Casino was granted a two-year extension on its opening deadline, until the first quarter of 2020, with an additional year in case of unforeseen circumstances.
The plans for the mini-casino are being kept under wraps ahead of a December 5 public hearing on the mini-casino, apart from what came out with the application, which describes a two-story, 100,000-square-foot casino in the former location of the Bon-Ton department store, previously one of four anchor stores in the Westmoreland Mall.
In a press statement, Cordish spokeswoman Carmen Gonzales predicted the Westmoreland project will create nearly 1,000 permanent jobs.
“We will be bringing a first-class experience to Westmoreland that will go well beyond a great casino to include unique dining and entertainment experiences unlike anything currently in the region,” Gonzales said. “Our new facility will be a true destination for the area, with a distinctive and high-end look and feel, generating $200 million in annual economic impact and creating approximately 960 direct and indirect construction jobs plus a similar number of permanent jobs.”
