The state of Pennsylvania is expected to see the start of the official auctions for the ten new satellite casino licenses which are planned to be built in the area. As it was confirmed by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, the wagers for the new licenses are going to commence in January 2018 and the process is scheduled to continue for the next six months. All communities across the state have a chance to claim their will to prohibit the said move within their borders by 31st December.
Ten such satellite casinos will be open for the bidding process and the lawmakers of the state have been planning this procedure for quite some time now. The Category 4 casino licenses are going to be up for grabs starting on 10th January, as it was previously announced by the authority in the gaming sector. As for the entities which have the right to bid for the new casino licenses, those have to be only current holders of Category 1 and 2 ones. The opening round of wager is going to qualify ten of the total 12 casinos operating in the state.
The gambling operators which will have the chance to participate are the license holders behind Rivers Casino, based in Pittsburgh, the Meadows, as well as other casino locations. In order to take part in the bidding process, they will have to submit their own sealed bid, and it was recently confirmed that it should amount to a minimum of $7.5 million. The information was stated by the gaming board officials through a list of guidelines for the process. In a second sealed envelope, said bidders will have to indicate their choice of a municipality where the casino is going to be located.
As it was confirmed by the officials at Gaming Control Board, the applicant who is going to receive the casino license will then have to find a location in a 15-miles range from that spot. The so-called mini-casinos will be regulated by the prohibition stated by the authorities. According to it, they should not be located near integrated resorts, one of which is Lady Luck in Fayette County. They will also be prohibited from operating within a 25-mile range of an already existing competitor casino location.
Experts State Their Opinion
Some experts in the gambling field of Pennsylvania have stated before that the central region of the state where Johnstown, Altoona, State College, and Williamsport are located might be a good place for some of the new casino locations. The reason behind this evaluation is that there are no gambling venues within a 50-mile range and the new facilities could potentially thrive. In the meantime, it is known that commissioners from Lawrence County have been trying to attract bidders to their area and letters were being sent to the owners of Category 1 and 2 licenses, with the proposition to consider building there.
It could be recalled, that back in October this year Gov. Tom Wolf (D) place his signature on a new gambling expansion package, turning it into a law which gave the permission to 10 satellite casino locations to operate. They will have the permission to operate up to 750 slot machines as well as 30 table games. It was also confirmed that the operators will have to share a total of four percent of their slot and table revenue with their host towns.
- Author
Daniel Williams
