Pennsylvania regulator greenlights mini casino in College Township
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board has awarded a Category 4 licence.
US.- The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) has voted unanimously to award a licence to SC Gaming OpCo to construct a new land-based casino in College Township, Centre County. The award concludes a process that began in September 2020 when SC owner Ira Lubert secured rights with a winning bid of $10,000,101 at a Category 4 auction held by the board.
Lubert filed an application with the PGCB in January 2021 to locate the casino on a 94,000 square foot space that formerly housed Macy’s Department Store at the Nittany Mall on College Avenue in College Township.
The board conducted a background investigation of the application along with the collection of public input from citizens, community groups and public officials. A public input hearing was held in College Township on August 16, 2021.
Prior to its vote, the board held a final licensing hearing in which representatives of SC Gaming OpCo, LLC were questioned about the venue, which will be operated by Bally’s Corporation.
The Nittany Mall is less than four miles from the Penn State campus in University Park. Bally’s plans to spend $123m to transform part of the largely vacant shopping mall into a casino with 750 slot machines, 30 table games, and sports betting. It would also have a sport-themed restaurant with space for live entertainment.
SC Gaming has not set a target date for opening but said the project would take approximately 12 months to complete once construction begins. A Category 4 Slot Machine Licence permits the entity to operate between 300 and 750 slot machines. The entity could also petition for permission to operate up to 30 table games for an additional fee of $2.5m with the capability of adding an additional 10 tables games after its first year of operation.
