Local breaking news, severe weather, sports and traffic coverage.
The Eagles are not the only Philadelphia entity winning things these days. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) held its second auction for satellite casino properties on Wednesday. The winner was the yet-to-be-built Philly Live! casino’s company, Stadium Casino LLC.
Stadium Casino put in a bid of $40.1 million ($40,100,005 to be exact), besting three other contenders. The group selected Derry, PA in Westmoreland County as the centerpoint of its possible location.
Stadium Casino LLC will have presence in two major cities
With this satellite property, the new kid on the Pennsylvania casino block will have properties in or near the state’s two biggest cities. Derry, PA in Westmoreland County is around 40 miles west of Pittsburgh. It is not to be confused with Derry Township, PA in Dauphin County near Harrisburg.
While the final satellite casino does not have to be precisely on the coordinates provided in the bid, the property will be within 15 miles of it.
It appears Stadium Casino LLC selected the satellite location as close as it could get to Pittsburgh without violating the buffer zones of any existing Category 1-3 casinos.
There are currently three casinos in and around Pittsburgh. Here is how far each of them are from the Derry location:
- Rivers Casino Pittsburgh: 43 miles
- Lady Luck Nemacolin: 53 miles
- The Meadows Casino: 66 miles
A look at the buffer zones and opt-out municipalities show that the Westmoreland County location is about as close as a property can get to Pittsburgh given the parameters satellite properties must satisfy.
The satellite bids continue to be higher than expected
Penn National’sopening bid of $50.1 million far exceeded expectations for how much each of the 10 satelitte casino licenses would go for. This second bid is also on the high side. Forecasters initially expected the top locations would go for around $30 million.
Now that the big bids are in, it is possible prices go down. Once an eligible casino bids on a property, they are no longer allowed to participate in the initial auctions. Station Casinos LLC is out of the running, leaving nine possible bidders from the 11 eligible Category 1 and 2 casino companies.
Technically though, thanks to its pending acquisition of Pinnacle, Penn National effectively has two satellite bids it can exercise. After shelling out big bucks for one in the name of Hollywood Casino, it can bid again using The Meadows’ license.
The first auction generated four bidders, as did the second. In other words, just because a property is not bidding now does not mean that it will not bid. It was clear to many that Penn National was going to bid first. With that in mind, other properties might be gauging the competition before entering the fray.
What’s ahead in the mini casino auction process?
Should the existing Category 1 and casinos not buy up all the satellite casinos, there is a process that opens up the bidding to others. There are eight more auctions scheduled from now until May. Once an auction takes place with no bids, the initial auction period is over.
After the initial auction period concludes, the subsequent auction period begins. At this point, bidding opens up to Category 3 casinos Valley Forge Casino and Lady Luck Nemacolin. Additionally, successful bidders in the initial auction process will get the chance to bid on a second license if they choose to do so.
Once there is a subsequent auction without bidders, the satellite auction period is technically over. However, it is then at the discretion of PCGB to schedule additional auctions if deemed necessary.
What’s ahead for Stadium Casino LLC?
Now that Stadium Casino LLC secured the bid, the company needs to put up the money, and quickly. The company has until Jan. 26 to pay for the property. That $40.1 million includes the $7.5 million satellite casino licensing fee.
The satellite license allows the new property to house 300-750 slot machines. If they want to add table games, it will cost an additional $2.5 million on top of the bid.
Once Stadium Casino pays up, the group has six months to present its completed Category 4 application, which includes all the details about size, jobs, amenities, and so forth.
It will be a busy six months for the company. It just got the all-clear to proceed on construction of the Philly Live! casino in Stadium Park.
Hotels Near Rivers Casino Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( /pɪtsbərɡ/, pits-burg) is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States. The population of the city in 2010 was 305,704, while that of the seven-county metropolitan area stood at 2,356,285. Downtown Pittsburgh retains substantial economic influence, ranking at 25th in the nation for jobs within the urban core and 6th in job density. The characteristic shape of Pittsburgh's central business district is a triangular tract carved by the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, which form the Ohio River. The city features 151 high-rise buildings, 446 bridges, two inclined railways, and a pre-revolutionary fortification. Pittsburgh is known colloquially as 'The City of Bridges' and 'The Steel City' for its many bridges and former steel manufacturing base.
While the city is historically known for its steel industry, today its economy is largely based on healthcare, education, technology, robotics, and financial services. The downturn of the steel industry left no steel mills within the City of Pittsburgh and only two remaining mills in the county,[note 1] though more than 300 steel-related businesses remain in the area.By contrast, the region supports 1,600 technology companies, ranging from a Google campus to small startups. The city has redeveloped abandoned industrial sites with new housing, shopping and offices, such as SouthSide Works and Bakery Square.
While Pittsburgh faced an economic crisis in the 1980s as the regional steel industry waned, modern Pittsburgh is economically strong. The housing market is relatively stable despite a national subprime mortgage crisis, and Pittsburgh added jobs in 2008 even as the national economy entered a significant jobs recession. This positive economic trend is in contrast to the 1980s, when Pittsburgh lost its manufacturing base in steel and electronics, and corporate jobs in the oil (Gulf Oil), electronics (Westinghouse), chemical (Koppers) and defense (Rockwell International) industries.