Pennsylvania Slot Machine License Contenders (Part I)

In this five part series we are going to discuss the contenders for the two remaining slot machine licenses that Pennsylvania is planning on distributing near the end of this month. Starting Monday, each of the final five candidates is going to have one more opportunity to plead their case as to why they should receive the slot machine license. It is up to the State Gaming Board to decide which two of the five are the best choices. The locations for the proposed slot machine casinos are Allentown, Bethlehem, Mt. Airy, Pocono Manor, and Adams County. In this article we are going to start with Allentown.

Allentown seems that they would be the perfect choice for a slot machine casino as no one needs the $10 million fee that the gaming pays the host city more. There is also practically no opposition whatsoever to bringing in a slot machine casino from the residents. Their budget deficit would be eliminated and the city would get over a thousand new jobs.

The slot machine casino’s operator would be Aztar Corp, and they think they have a real shot at getting the license. They say that not only do they need it more than Bethlehem, but they are more qualified to operate in the area. They say that since Allentown has embraced the idea of bringing in a slot machine casino, and Bethlehem’s group is divided over it, which alone should be enough to sway the board. They also say that since they are a smaller group they know how to compete in this environment, whereas the larger slot machine casino group coming into Bethlehem is used to large scale operations and will not understand the nuances of a smaller venue.

However, they have their own problems. Their location is away from the main downtown area, which means none of the slot machine casinos business will feed into the rest of the downtown area. However, they are also not near homes, schools, etc., which is probably why they didn’t get any opposition. It is a small area of land as well, only coming in at 23 acres, which means there isn’t much room for expansion.

Aztar is currently being bought out by another slot machine operator – Columbia Sussex – which owns several casinos and hotels already. They say it will make them stronger; officials think the new ownership could cloud the process. They are planning on naming it the Tropicana, Lehigh Valley, and it will cost $325 million and hold 3,000 slot machines.

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