Rivers Casino Pittsburgh is getting an upgrade amid the ongoing expansion of Pennsylvania’s gambling industry. Rush Street Gaming, the property’s owner, announced Wednesday that it plans to break ground on a new hotel at the gaming complex later this summer.
The Landing Hotel Pittsburgh will occupy a site right next to the east facade of the existing casino and will be attached to it. The hotel building will be facing the Carnegie Science Center.
Rush Street Gaming first unveiled plans to add a new hotel at its Pittsburgh property back in 2017. However, the company decided to push back the start of construction after the Pennsylvania Legislature approved a massive overhaul of the state’s gambling industry. The sweeping gambling reform included the legalization of sports betting and online gambling, as well as the authorization of 10 mini casinos around the state, among other things.
Commenting on their decision to finally break ground on The Landing Hotel, Rush Street Gaming CEO Greg Carlin said on Wednesday that “the time is right” and that while the statewide gaming expansion might have changed their schedule for the project, it never changed their intentions.
Mr. Carlin added:
Rush Street always envisioned a hotel for Rivers to create a full-service destination on the North Shore. We see it as a natural evolution.
News about the expected start of construction work at Rivers Casino Pittsburgh arrived shortly after the property’s parent company announced that it would rebrand its other casino in the state. SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia will become Rivers Casino Philadelphia this fall as Rush Street Gaming wants to bring the complex in line with its other Rivers-branded properties in Pittsburgh; Schenectady, New York; and Des Plaines, Illinois.
The Landing Hotel
Rush Street Gaming said that it expects to break ground on the new facility later this summer, pending approval from zoning and planning authorities. The company said it has begun the process of submitting applications for the necessary permits with the City of Pittsburgh.
Construction is expected to take around 18 months, which means that if everything goes according to plan, Rivers Casino will be able to cut the ribbon on its new hotel in early 2021.
The expansion project will cost approximately $60 million. The Landing Hotel will feature 219 guest rooms, including 10 luxury terrace suites, each with a private first-floor patio. The hotel will offer views of the Ohio River and the Pittsburgh skyline via expansive windows in each of the rooms.
Architectural design firm VOA has been tapped for the facility’s design. This will be the second Landing-branded hotel to open at a Rush Street Gaming property. In 2017, the company debuted The Landing Hotel at its Rivers Casino & Resort Schenectady in Upstate New York.
While it has delayed the hotel’s ground-breaking, Rivers Casino Pittsburgh has added multiple new facilities to its existing offering over the past several years, including The Event Center and most recently its sportsbook. Rivers Casino along with its sister property in Philadelphia were among the state’s first casinos to go live with regulated in-person sports betting.
The new hotel at Rivers Casino is expected to generate approximately 1,400 temporary construction jobs and nearly 130 permanent jobs once operational.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date on the day’s top casino news stories.
