Parx Casino is planning to open a 300-room hotel. Parx, the highest-grossing casino in Pennsylvania, is looking to add to its Bensalem property and grow throughout the state with a mini-casino in Shippensburg.
Hotel to open at Parx Casino
In an internal email to Parx employees obtained by Playin Pennsylvania, details were provided for plans for a hotel.
The email mentioned starting the process of building a hotel on the property (of Parx Casino in Bensalem) and that they have solicited a design package from local and national architects.
“Right now we are contemplating a 300 room hotel with a bar, restaurant, night club, pool/spa complex and some modular meeting space,” the email reads. “This should take about 18-24 months.”
Another source said via text message that the email was from fall 2021 and the timeline now is more towards 16-18 months. Currently, the closest hotels to Parx casino are Holiday Inn Bensalem (.4 miles) and Courtyard by Marriott (.4 miles).
(Parx does not provide comment to Playin Pennsylvania on any stories).
PA casino market expansion
Parx didn’t make splashy headlines in 2021, but they still continued to be the highest-grossing casino in PA. Around the state, three new casinos opened:
- Live! Casino Philadelphia: The $700 million casino and hotel is 22 miles from Parx.
- Hollywood Casino Morgantown: A mini-casino about an hour away.
- Hollywood Casino York: Another Penn National mini-casino.
In addition, PA online casinos reached record monthly highs in October ($117 million) and came close to eclipsing it in November.
Pennsylvania online sportsbooks recorded an all-time high for revenue in November ($85 million) and took a record $776.3 million in bets in October.
Pennsylvania casinos with hotels
Unlike Atlantic City, not all PA casinos have hotels attached to them. Two other casinos in Southeastern PA – Live! Casino Philadelphia and Valley Forge Casino – have hotels. Rivers Casino Philadelphia and Harrah’s Philadelphia do not.
Adding a hotel with non-gaming amenities (pool/spa, night club, bar, restaurant) shows Parx is planning to protect that No. 1 spot in a market with more land-based and online competition. Not only do they have to compete with other casinos within a half-hour ride, but they (and every other brick-and-mortar casino) also have to compete with the convenience of playing from the comfort of your own home by offering something that makes the experience better than your own couch.
Parx Casino Shippensburg
A hotel isn’t the only project in the works. Parx is in the process of opening a mini-casino in Shippensburg this year. The 73,000 sq. ft. mini-casino will be located at the site of a former Lowe’s in Shippensburg. At the Jan. 19 Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board meeting, Parx will seek approval to offer table games at the Shippensburg casino. Also, the casino plans for 500 slots, a Chickie’s and Pete’s and a sportsbook.
Greenwood Gaming and Entertainment, parent company of Parx, won the bid for a mini-casino in Feb. 2018 for $8.1 million. Mini-casinos in PA must be located 40 miles or more from full-sized casinos.
Lead photo by Katie Kohler
