Owners of what would be Philadelphia’s second Category 2 casino announced that they had reached important agreements with both the city and five community groups residing near the gambling venue’s site for important matters such as employment of minorities, workers’ wages, etc.
Last November, the proposed Live! Hotel & Casino won the second license for a full-scale casino in Philadelphia. The venue is owned and will be operated by Stadium Casino LLC, which is a joint venture between Greenwood Gaming and Entertainment Inc. and Cordish Cos. Owners said on Thursday that they will be focused on four major initiatives – to be more inclusive towards minorities and women, to commit to giving employees adequate minimum wages, and to work closely with local universities for job placements.
Stadium Casino and the city reached an agreement called the Economic Opportunity Plan for the inclusion of more African-Americans in the construction of Live! Hotel & Casino and its operation once the venue is completed.
The casino owner also announced a continued commitment to hiring minority- and women-owned businesses both during construction and once the casino is launched. Stadium Casino promised that it would make sure that up to 58% of such businesses will be hired during construction works and up to 60% when the venue is operational.
In addition to this, the developer said that about 3,000 temporary and 2,000 permanent jobs will be created. About 50% of the venue’s permanent workforce will be represented by minorities.
Stadium Casino also revealed on Thursday that it will offer a minimum wage of $12 an hour to all existing contractors.
As mentioned above, the developer also reached agreements with five community groups – the Whitman Council, the Stadium Community Council, the Sports Complex Special Services District, the Veterans Stadium Neighbors Civic Association, and the South Philadelphia Communities Civic Association. The groups are based near the site of the proposed $450-million casino complex.
Under the said agreements, Stadium Casino is to annually contribute no less than $750,000 from its casino revenue to a specially established charitable fund. Thus said, the new casino will grant no less than $15 million to the fund in the first 20 years of operations. The money is to be administered by an advisory board with board members from the above-mentioned five groups.
Generally speaking, Live! Hotel & Casino will occupy a 2-million-square-foot parcel of land and will include a full-scale Las Vegas-style casino with more than 2,000 slot machines and 125 table games. The complex will also feature an 18-story luxury hotel, a large parking garage, a spa, as well as food and beverage, entertainment, and a number of other exciting options.
The venue is expected to annually generate more than $300 million in gaming revenue from both table games and slot machines and more than $1.6 billion during the first 5 years of its operation. Of those, about $130 million will be contributed in tax revenue to both the city and the state as a whole.
