Pennsylvania regulator approves license for $127M Bally's "mini-casino" near State University

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board voted last week to award a Category 4 slot machine license to SC Gaming to construct a casino in College Township, Centre County, with a price tag of $127.6 million.

The casino will be operated by Bally’s Corporation and will offer 750 slot machines, 30 table games, retail facility sports wagering, stage for live music and special events and quick-serve food and beverage outlets.

The new casino is to be located at Nittany Mall

Upfront construction costs are estimated at $35 million, and the facility expects to support 350 full-time equivalent construction jobs. The property expects to eventually support the full-time equivalent employment of 350 people.

There is no target date for opening yet, but SC Gaming representatives told the board it would expect construction to last approximately a year once it begins. 

Ira Lubert

The award concludes a process the board began in September 2020 when businessman Ira Lubert secured the right to locate a casino with a winning bid of $10 million at a Category 4 auction held by the regulator. Lubert then filed an application in January 2021 to locate the casino in a 94,000-square-foot space that formerly housed Macy’s Department Store at the Nittany Mall, near Penn State University. The project is self-funded by the businessman. 

The board then conducted an in-depth background investigation through a process that included a public input hearing held in College Township in August 2021, and the receipt of written comments in June 2022. Prior to its vote last week, the board held a final licensing hearing in which representatives of the company were questioned about the project.

A Category 4 Slot Machine License permits the entity to operate between 300 and 750 slot machines as part of a "mini-casino", and allows for a further petition for permission to operate up to 30 table games for an additional fee of $2.5 million, with the capability of adding an additional 10 after its first year of operation.

Valley Forge Casino

Ira Lubuert was responsible for the development and sale of the Valley Forge Casino and Resort in King of Prussia. According to his testimony before the board last Wednesday, the Valley Forge project was conceived coming out of the 2008 economic crisis and likened it to present conditions in contrast with the COVID-19 pandemic. He expects the new casino will entice additional business to the State College area just as much as Valley Forge helped revitalize King of Prussia, as reported by The Daily Item. 

“I intend to use the same formula I used at Valley Forge here. I believe that the Category 4 casino I intend to construct at Nittany Mall will reinvigorate the property and draw new business to the property itself and the surrounding area,” Lubert stated. 

Eric Pearson, an adjunct instructor at Penn State, is the casino’s prospective CEO and general manager. He served in that role under Lubert at the Valley Forge Casino as well. 

Interior view of Parx Casino Shippensburg

This property will become Pennsylvania's 18th casino, with the license award announced on the same week Parx Casino Shippensburg had its soft launch, now on track to hold its grand opening on February 3.

The property was originally slated to open in November 2022, but it faced some construction delays. Parx Casino Shippensburg will become the state’s fourth Category 4 "mini-casino." Parx won an auction for $8.1 million in 2018 to develop the property in Cumberland County. It then filed a petition to offer table games in April 2019 and got approval in January 2022, paying a $2.5 million fee in the process.