Satellite Casinos Making Their Way To The Maryland Pennsylvania Border

  • Ten licenses were held for satellite casinos from a 2017 PA gambling expansion measure.
  • Greenwood Gaming was granted a license in Shippensburg, PA.
  • The venue is set to open in 2020 and generate $45 million in annual gaming revenue.

SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The fifth meeting held by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board on Monday listened to public input for satellite casino expansions in the state.

In 2017, the state approved a gambling expansion measure to allow casinos to operate “satellite casinos”, which permit for additional gaming in an area that does not have a current gambling establishment.

This meeting went into the details for Greenwood Gaming’s expansion of Parx Casino. The plan on the table would allow Parx to operate a satellite casino in Shippensburg in attempts to bring in additional money from Maryland gamblers.

Located between Interstates 81 and 76, the property would encompass 10 acres off of Exit 29 on I-81. A few hundred jobs would be created in the process from the gaming, hospitality, and administrative operations.

The newly licensed casino will look to generate about $45 million in gaming revenue per year. Their application explained how they would come to those numbers.

“The corridor is home to a number of Fortune 500 and logistics companies, who have chosen the location because of the region’s proximity to the major metropolitan areas of the East Coast.”

Additionally, with 65,000 square feet of proposed space, the casino will have no problem supplying the 40 table games, 750 slot machines, a poker room, and a sportsbook lounge that are limited to satellite casinos under Pennsylvania law.

The property will also be able to set aside room for 500 parking spaces.

With half of the ten satellite licenses in use, the bidding process will only get more extreme in the future. The state has already generated $127 million from their bids, including the $8.1 million given from Greenwood Gaming for the Shippensburg license.

The venue is set to open sometime in 2020.

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