Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board Awards Category 4 Satellite Casino License In York County

HARRISBURG, PA: The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board today voted unanimously to award a license to Mountainview Thoroughbred Racing Association, LLC (Penn National) to construct a Category 4 casino in Springettsbury Township, York County.

The award concludes a process the Board began on January 12, 2018 when Mountainview Thoroughbred Racing Association secured a 15-mile radius area in which it could locate a casino with a winning bid of $50,100,000 at the first Category 4 auction held by the Board.  They subsequently filed an application with the Board to locate the facility in the York Galleria Mall.

Subsequently, the Board conducted an in-depth background investigation of the application along with the collection of public input from citizens, community groups and public officials at a hearing held in Springettsbury Township on October 1, 2018. Today, prior to its vote, the Board held a final licensing hearing in which representatives of Mountainview Thoroughbred Racing were questioned by Board members about the project.

A Category 4 Slot Machine License permits the entity to operate between 300 and 750 slot machines. The entity could also petition for permission to initially operate up to 30 table games for an additional fee of $2.5 million with the capability of adding an additional 10 tables games after its first year of operation.

According to information presented today to the Board, Hollywood Casino York will offer at opening:

·         A re-purposed retail facility of 80,000 square feet

·         500 slot machines (can expand to 750 maximum)

·         24 table games (can expand to 40 tables maximum)

·         A sports and race book

·         Casual dining, bar and entertainment facilities

The facility, which expects to create 260 construction jobs, is targeting a late 2020 or early 2021 opening. When operations are stabilized, Hollywood Casino York expects to have a workforce of 200 Full Time Equivalent jobs.

About the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board is tasked to oversee all aspects of gambling legalized under 2004’s Race Horse Development and Gaming Act and the Gaming Expansion Act of 2017. In addition to slot machine and table games gambling at land-based casinos, the expansion includes online casino games available to date on five sites; sports wagering offered through sportsbooks at 12 locations and through eight online outlets; video gaming terminals (VGTs) offered as of this date at 17 qualified truck stops; fantasy sports contests through eight providers; and, online games at airports.

The mature land-based casino industry in Pennsylvania currently consists of 10 stand-alone and racetrack casinos in operation, along with the two smaller resort casinos.  These facilities collectively employ over 16,000 people and annually generate over $1.3 billion in tax revenue from slot machine and table games play. Construction of a 13^th casino is currently underway along with a number of new “mini-casinos” that are expected to begin operation over the next couple of years.

Additional information about both the PGCB’s gaming regulatory efforts and Pennsylvania’s gaming industry can be found at https://gamingcontrolboard.pa.gov . You can also follow the agency on Twitter by choosing @PAGamingControl.