Last Wednesday, Cordish Cos., a Maryland-based casino operator announced that it is taking complete ownership of the project developer of Philly Live! Hotel & Casino, Stadium Casino LLC. This move is a pretty huge shakeup for the long-delayed Philly Live! Hotel & Casino projects as now Greenwood Gaming & Entertainment Inc. has been officially bought out.
Stadium Casino LLC has plans to set up the Philly Live! Hotel & Casino at Packer Ave, on the site that was previously occupied by a Holiday Inn. In addition to this, Stadium Casino was also recently approved to open a mini-casino in Westmoreland County and Cordish Cos. will be taking over that project as well. This announcement comes shortly after rumors that the Cordish and Greenwood Gaming fell out and were looking for a buyer for their Pennsylvania gambling licenses. As it turns out, this was not entirely the case – apparently, Cordish is simply trying to expand its business.
According to Joe Weinberg, the managing member of Stadium Casino Baltimore Investors LLC, Cordish Cos. is pumped about getting back to work in as far as the construction of the casino is concerned. The company hopes to create thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in tax revenue for the Keystone State through the launch of its two first-class casinos.
Keeping It Low Key
Unfortunately, the terms of the details of the acquisition are yet to be disclosed – all we know is that the Cordish Cos, which also happens to operate the second-highest grossing casino in Maryland, has reached a deal to buy Greenwood Gaming & Entertainment Inc.’s stake in the Stadium Casino project. As for the figures, the project aims to build a $600 million casino in South Philadelphia as well as a satellite casino in Westmoreland County.
As it stands, Stadium Casino LLC holds a license to operate the Packer Avenue casino and it recently requested the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board to approve a three-year extension on the launch deadline to December 2021. However, the gaming control board has reportedly responded to this request by decreeing that a two-year extension to December 2020 should be more than sufficient – the regulator is clearly not happy about the fact the long overdue project is yet to begin bringing in tax revenue for the state.
Despite these delays, the Stadium Casino project has been very promising and it appears that it will certainly operate a significant gaming presence in the Commonwealth and it is making all the necessary moves to ensure this happens. Last year, for instance, the project paid $50 million to the state for a 1,500-slot-machine-license at the Packer Avenue site as well as $24.5 million for table games. Moreover, it later bid for the state’s interactive gaming licenses and paid $40.1 million for the license to set up a satellite casino in Westmoreland County.