PA’s Fourth Satellite Casino To Open in Feb – Parx Casino Shippensburg

The Parx company runs its flagship casino in Bensalem, north PA. However, the Shoppensburg location will be the first gaming expansion and is set to be located 40 miles from Harrisburg. Parx is operated by the privately owned Greenwood Gaming & Entertainment company.

Parx’s flagship location in Bensalem recently posted on Facebook about the expansion, and marketing for the February opening has started. However, we don’t yet have a specific opening date for the casino – only the month and year.

The all-new Shippensburg casino is constructed on a former Lowe’s home improvement store site. The facility is set to be 73,000 sq ft, and it’ll house 48 table games, 500 slot machines, and a self-service sports betting area. This full-service complex will also provide a sports bar and a 100-seat restaurant. Live dealer games aren’t on the plan for this casino yet.

Shippensburg University Casino

The PA state authorized a range of Category 4 satellite casinos back in 2017 as part of the gaming expansion plan. These “mini-casino” developments were initially only to be available for current casino owners and operators.

The Parx company gained its mini-casino permit by winning the PGCB auction round in February 2018. Parx fixed the large Category 4 deal with a bid of $8.1 million. Shippensburg Township was an immediate choice for the project, as the university town chose to be in the satellite casino that host location pool.

Why Shippensburg? This area is home to Shippensburg University – a public college that’s a member of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. This makes up one of the ten state-owned universities in the commonwealth. Shippensburg University is home to approximately 7K undergraduate and 1.3K postgraduate students.

When it opens, the Parx Shippensburg Casino will be situated off Interstate 81 – opposite the Walmart Supercenter. This leaves the complex only two miles away from the college campus.

Many Shippensburg officials have desired a casino in the area for a long time, as this will provide new tax revenue for the area.

In 2018 Steve Oldt, a local supervisor, stated, “We’re kind of excited,”. As we get closer to the casino opening date, there’s no doubt local buzz is building too.

Mini-Casinos Thriving In PA

Mini-casinos, also known as satellite casinos, act as affiliates of large Pennsylvania Category 2 casinos. With smaller venues, these mini-operations pay dividends to the companies that rely on their success. Many of them have their own websites. After reading about the best casino in Pennsylvania, you will know all the information about these gambling sites that you can trust.

The first Category 4 action in January 2018 was won by Penn National Gaming (now Penn Entertainment). The company secured their mini-casino future with a $50.1 million bid. Later, the company banked a second satellite casino license with a $10.5 million bid.

Penn Entertainment opened Hollywood York for $120 million in total cost (including the licensing fee) in August 2021. And a few months after that, Hollywood Morgantown and the Pennsylvania Turnpike opened at the cost of $111 million.

The Cordish Companies, which is known for Live! Casino Philadelphia ownership appears to be the only casino operator in Pennsylvania to open a satellite. This Baltimore-based gaming company opened Live! Casino Pittsburgh outside of the city in Westmoreland in November 2020.

Live! Pittsburgh won $85 million on its slots and $14.7 million on table games during the last year. Sports betting gave the company another $1.6 million from the satellites.

Regarding Hollywood York, the company won $25.3 million on their slot machines and $6.8 million on tables. Sports bets for the satellites added another $1 million during the last year.