Yes, you've been able to gamble on slots at The Meadows for almost two years. But that casino was temporary. This one is permanent -- and bigger:
"The Meadows Racetrack & Casino opened its $175 million permanent facility to the public at 9:45 a.m. today, when a crowd of several hundred surged inside the spacious building in Washington County. 'This is really impressive,' said Pat Doyle of Delmont, visiting the food court and surveying race horses warming up on the track outside while he waited to play some of the 3,100 slot machines. On a drizzly morning, the crowd was much smaller than for a test run on Monday or for the opening of the Meadows' temporary facility in June 2007."
Here's the story on that soft opening:
"By 10 a.m., the line to enter The Meadows Racetrack & Casino was 250 people deep. By 11 a.m., the line was measured in miles -- automobiles clogged the mile-long stretch of Racetrack Road between the casino and the highway, and the queue to exit Interstate 79 was a full mile-and-a-half heading north. It was Opening Day of a different kind in Washington County. Nobody seemed to care that the Pirates were playing their first home game of the 2009 season in Pittsburgh -- not when the new, 3,700-slot casino was opening at 11 a.m. yesterday to an invitation-only test crowd. The invitations, 17,000 in all, were distributed by Washington County's volunteer fire departments. The proceeds from yesterday's soft opening will benefit those fire departments."
That's great news for the slots players, but for those who like to bet on the ponies, the opening of the new casino means that racing is back:
"Racing resumes at The Meadows at 12:15 p.m. Wednesday after the early April shutdown to prepare the new building. Casino officials say they've designed the 350,000-square-foot structure to highlight the horses as a major entertainment feature beyond the Double Diamonds and Wheel of Fortune machines and new dining options. Two restaurants and a food court on the casino's upper levels overlook the track, with both indoor and outdoor seating. The old-fashioned grandstand behind glass, used during four-and-a-half decades of racing, has been replaced by three rows of stadium-style, outdoor seating putting hundreds of patrons close to the home stretch."
... From the P-G's Tom Barnes, writing out of Harrisburg:
Lawrence County Commissioner Dan Vogler watched in amazement Wednesday as more than 100 people from Philadelphia screamed and hollered at a Gaming Control Board meeting to protest two slots casinos proposed for their city. The Philadelphians said they didn't want gambling parlors in their city.
Mr. Vogler said the attitude of people in Lawrence County toward gambling is 100 percent different than the protestors from Philly. Unlike the Philadelphians, people in Lawrence County definitely do want a casino proposed for their area. "There is almost unanimous support for the proposed racetrack/casino in Lawrence County,'' he said. "When the gaming board held a hearing last summer in the county, 35 people testified in favor of it and no one was against it. The economic impact to the county would be signifcant,'' in terms of construction jobs and permanent gaming jobs.
Mr. Vogler has attended every gaming board meeting for months, in hopes that it would award a slots license for his county. An Indianapolis company named Centaur has received a Pennsylvania Harness Racing Commission license to build a new harness racing track west of New Castle, near the Ohio line, but the project can't proceed until the gaming board awards Centaur a slots license.
These days, racing isn't too popular but slots gambling certainly is. Centaur's racing license has been extended until September 2010, but it won't even be considered for a slots license until it proves to the gaming board that it has the financial backing to build the $400 million project. And Centaur officials, pointing to the severe recession and lack of lending by financial institutions, don't know how long it will take them to get the necessary financing.
Once the racino opens, another group, led by New Castle developer Carmen Shick, wants to build an indoor water park next to the slots facility, creating a new destination entertainment complex. But until Centaur gets its financing, and the board gives it the slots license, Mr. Vogler, and everyone else in Lawrence County, are forced to just wait.
... Same writer, different story:
"It looks like Nemacolin Woodlands in Fayette County is sticking with its decision not to seek a resort hotel casino license from the state. 'We never say anything is a 100 percent dead deal, but it's not very probable,'' Nemacolin spokesman Jeff Nobers said. Speculation had bubbled up last week when former state Rep. Jeff Coy, who now is a state Gaming Control Board member, moved to open up applications for the final resort hotel slots license to more than just the lone current applicant, Bushkill Group, which wants to put a resort hotel casino in the Poconos."
At one time, both "resort" casinos -- allowed no more than 500 slot machines -- were to be built in Southwestern Pennsylvania, one at Nelacolin and one at Seven Springs Mountain Resort. But both resorts withdrew their applications.
Around the state
Speaking of resort licenses:
"The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board [last week] awarded the 12th of 14 available slot machine licenses to Valley Forge Convention Center Partners, L.P., according to a news release."
That's in the King of Prussia.
... The latest on De Scandal in De Poconos:
"Dauphin County District Attorney Edward Marsico [has announced] two major developments regarding Louis DeNaples, owner of the Mt. Airy slots casino in Monroe County in the Poconos. He said that perjury charges against Mr. DeNaples, which were filed in early 2008, are now being dropped, in exchange for Mr. DeNaples, a wealthy Scranton businessman, giving up all ownership in the casino. ... Mr. DeNaples agreed to give up his ownership and control at Mt. Airy and turn over 100 percent of his interest to a trust set up in the name of his adult daughter, Lisa DeNaples. This agreement is subject to approval from the state Gaming Control Board."
Perfect. Because if his daughter owns it, there's no way he could profit from it, right?
Dispatches from the border
West Virginia casinos want to change the way they comp their customers:
"Gov. Joe Manchin will now decide whether West Virginia's racetracks can entice slot machine players with 'free play' credits ... Prior to today's conclusion of the regular session of state Legislature, members approved a measure that would allow the state's four racetracks to offer free play credits just as casinos do in nearby Pennsylvania. ... Critics objected to the provision legalizing free play, but racetracks in the Northern Panhandle had sought to offer free play credits as they scramble to compete with casinos in the Keystone State. Slot machine players are being drawn to Pennsylvania casinos with the promise of $20 to $50 in credit being applied to their players' cards. This credit has no cash value for tax purposes and comes at no cost to Pennsylvania casinos."
Atlantic City is dealing with the same issue -- Pennsylvania casinos give away comps without taking a tax hit.
Odds and ends
The Joliett, Ill., casino is reopening after a fire ... The Sands casino in Bethlehem, Pa., is opening next month ... The lousy economy means cutbacks at two horseracing tracks ... The Bay State is warming to the idea of casinos ... Ohio begins to flesh out the details of its latest casino push ... The Answer is Alan Iverson. The question is: Who just got banned from Detroit's casinos?
"Allen Iverson has been banned from both MGM and Greektown casinos in downtown Detroit, the Detroit News reported on its Pistons blog. A regular casino visitor since he arrived in town, the blog said Iverson has been 'banned mostly for his boorish behavior. He is a bad loser, and he loses a lot, often throwing his chips or cards at the dealer. He has been warned about improper behavior at the tables repeatedly. He is often loud and disruptive, according to witnesses, rude to dealers, other players and the wait staff.'"
Never understood why some people take out their gambling frustrations on the hired help. Why can't you just drink those frustrations away, like Charles Barkley does?
Last, if you're a blackjack dealer, it's best not to make smalltalk about the ecomomy:
"Joe Corbo, president of the Casino Association of New Jersey, says the last thing gamblers need to be reminded of is the tanking stock market or how much money they have lost recently. Making small talk with customers about the current national concern may seem like a good way to bond with them, but 'not really,' Corbo says. 'Our customers come here to escape. They don't want to be reminded of declining 401(k) balances or investment portfolios,' he wrote. 'If we engage them in discussion about the economy - or even worse, our personal circumstances - we're reminding them of the very things they're trying to forget.'"
In other words -- forget about your groceries. Keep gambling!
Posted
Apr 15 2009, 03:53 PM
by
Bill Toland