New Parx Shippensburg Competition With Nearby Hollywood Casinos

Parx opened up its second Pennsylvania location on February 3. The new Parx Shippensburg is the 17th retail casino in the Keystone State and falls under the mini-casino category.

Aside from 73,000 square feet of gaming space hosting 500 slot machines and 48 electronic tables, Parx boasts additional amenities like a sportsbook, a 100-seat restaurant, and a full bar.

However, a new mini casino opens up in a part of PA with two Hollywood casinos within an hour of driving distance. The new Shippensburg venue has a positive reputation from Parx’s initial casino in Bensalem. Still, it will need to hit it out of the park to compete in the saturated market.

Parx Is Expected to Stand Out

Since it came to the Pennsylvania market, Parx Casino proved to be among the top operators in the state. They have something to offer even surrounded by household industry names like Harrah’s, Hollywood, and Live! Casinos.

The Parx Casino General Manager Kevin Brady listed several reasons for their recent success. First, Kevin feels they have great fundamentals, training, and culture that they brought to Shippensburg. In addition, the casino employees will make the difference between Parx and the competition.

Unlike some other casino companies, Parx will remain a smoke-free venue in Shippensburg, a policy they successfully promoted in an original venue in Bensalem. The smoke-free building is something employees welcome, and most customers like it.

CMO of Parx Marc Oppenheimer pointed out that removing smoking areas did not impact the revenue and did wonders in keeping employees happy and out of a secondhand smoking environment.

The Advantages of the Shippensburg Location

The new casino is one hour drive from Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course and Casino York. The regional market has handled the two casinos well so far. The Harrisburg-Carlisle metropolitan area has a population of over 600,000, and York County has another 450,000, which is more than a large enough market for existing casinos.

With half a million people living within 30 miles from Parx Shippensburg, it cuts into half the distance to either Hollywood Casino. However, mark Oppenheimer feels Parx will attract some loyal Hollywood fans, so it offers a tier match program from other casinos. Still, when it comes to online casinos, Hollywood Casino has had great success in this sector. You can find out about others in the information on casino apps that pay real money.

Other positive factors to potential success include ample parking space, incredible infrastructure and proximity, and easy access from the I-81 highway.

Will Parx Mini-Casino Impact Hollywood Revenue?

Although the area can withstand three casinos, Parx will remain a threat to two Hollywood venues, and they will have to work hard to maintain the recent growth pattern.

Hollywood York opened in august 2021 and has a steady growth increasing slot revenue from $5 to $6 million and adding up to $1.6 million from table games monthly. Unfortunately, it looks like mini-casino success cuts into Hollywood Penn National’s bottom line, despite the growth of revenue pie.

Penn National had a monthly income of around $16 million from slots and three more from table games. After the venue in York opened, the numbers dropped to $13 and $2 million. It is not certain whether the mini-casino format had a negative impact or whether casino vendors still haven’t rebounded from COVID shutdowns.

The Parx Shippensburg will be the smallest of three casinos in the area, and it initially comes without live table games. It remains to be seen how Parx will impact nearby casino revenue.