“We are going to be in cross-border competition and hope to penetrate even deeper into Maryland than we have thus far,” Penn National VP of Public Affairs Eric Schippers said. “It’s one of our strategies.”<\/p>\n
Of Pennsylvania’s present 10 qualified Category 1 and 2 license holders able to bid on the satellite casinos, the state’s Gaming Control Board (PGCB) said only four submitted offers yesterday. The minimum bid was $7.5 million.<\/p>\n
Penn National’s $50.1 million offer is actually $100,000 more than it paid a decade ago for its full-fledged Hollywood Casino. But unlike the Category 1 facility that features over 2,300 slots and 50 table games, its York casino floor will be capped at 750 gaming terminals and 30 tables. Penn National will have to pay a $2.5 million add-on fee for table games.<\/p>\n
\nSchippers said of the $50.1 million offer, “It was an investment we felt like we had to make to protect a major market area for our casino. That cannibalization would have been, in our view, very significant.”<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nHollywood Casino is one of only two casinos in Pennsylvania that isn’t within a 25-mile radius of another gambling venue. The Category 4 mandate that satellites cannot be built within a 25-mile radius of a current casino is the basis for Penn National’s lawsuit.<\/p>\n
As for the three other bids, the PGCB, concerned about collusion among casino operators at auctions moving forward, withheld the companies and their offers. However, the Associated Press<\/i> reports that one envelope handed to a PGCB official prior to the meeting was labeled “Sands Bethworks,” which is the operating entity of Las Vegas Sands’ casino resort in Bethlehem.<\/p>\nFuture Auctions<\/b><\/h2>\n
The next satellite casino auction will be held on January 24. Eight additional auctions will be held, with the last scheduled for May 16.<\/p>\n
At that time, should Category 4 licenses still remain due to a lack of interest by current qualified applications, additional auctions will be scheduled and out-of-state casino operators will be invited to bid.<\/p>\n
Reading, Williamsport, Altoona, and Lawrence County are thought to be the frontrunners for the next possible selection sites.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Penn National Gaming won the first of 10 Pennsylvania satellite casino auctions with a $50.1 million bid to place a gambling venue in York County. The Wednesday development comes on the heels of a lawsuit filed by the company on Tuesday against the state that alleges the Category 4 mini-casinos, authorized in a massive gambling […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":67040,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,10,18,61],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Penn National Wins Pennsylvania Satellite Casino for York County<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n