The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board announced Wednesday that it would hold an auction for the right to apply for a license for the development of a mini-casino in the state on September 4.
The gaming regulator has so far selected the winning bidders for five such projects, and under state law it can authorize up to five more.
The September 4 auction will mark the beginning of a second round of mini-casino license auctions. The PGCB completed the first round in the spring of 2018.
Under Pennsylvania’s Gambling Expansion Act signed by Gov. Tom Wolf in 2017, the state regulator can issue up to ten Category 4 casino licenses to interested operators. Current holders of Category 1, 2, or 3 casino licenses in the state are eligible to apply for a Category 4 license.
A Category 4 mini-casino can feature between 300 and 750 slot machines as well as a maximum of 30 table games upon opening and the possibility for adding ten more table games after its first full year of operation.
Bidders participating in the mini-casino auctions are required a minimum bid of $7.5 million for a Category 4 casino license. They are also required to pay an additional $2.5 million fee for the right to operate table games at the facility.
The development of mini-casinos around the state is part of a larger gambling expansion effort that also includes the legalization of sports betting and online gaming on the territory of Pennsylvania.
The Five Approved Category 4 Casino Projects
The PGCB collected $127 million from bidders for the right to operate a Category 4 casino in the state. A subsidiary of Penn National Gaming, the company behind Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course, won the first auction with a $50.1 million bid for the development of a mini-casino in York County.
Stadium Casino, LLC, which has also been authorized to build Philadelphia’s second full-blown casino, won the second auction with a $40.1 million bid for a facility in Westmoreland County.
The operator of Mount Airy Casino Resort placed a $21.2 million bid for a mini-casino in Beaver County. Greenwood Gaming and Entertainment Inc., the company running Parx Casino, is now seeking authorization to build a satellite casino in Cumberland County after winning an auction with an $8.1 million bid.
Penn National Gaming won the final fifth auction held so far. And last month, the company was awarded a license to build a mini-casino in Caernarvon Township, Berks County. The casino operator placed a minimum $7.5 million bid. Its first satellite casino is expected to open doors late next year.
Penn National Gaming previously said that it would spend $110 million on its Berks County mini-casino. The facility will occupy an 86,000-square-foot site and will feature 750 slot machines and 30 table games.
The project faced some opposition prior to its regulatory approval, with opponents arguing that it was an insult to the deeply religious Amish community that lives there. However, Berks County and Caernarvon Township officials said that the opposition was represented by a small minority of people, most of whom living outside the township.
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