Penn National never wanted a satellite casino, but due to its exposed location, felt forced to get involved - and boy did it get involved. Penn National (Springettsbury Township, York County) Ultimately, five of the state’s 10 satellite casino licenses were purchased. Satellite casinos were authorized as part of the omnibus gambling bill passed in October 2017, and allow license holders to build branded gambling properties housing between 300-750 slot machines and up to 30 table games.įor comparison, traditional PA casinos like Parx, Harrah’s, and Mohegan Sun offer anywhere between 2,000 and 3,500 slot terminals, along with over 100 table games each.

Here’s everything we know about satellite casinos and where they will be scattered throughout the Keystone State.

Once the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board approves the choices, they can break ground. After purchasing a license, it was up to each operator to scout the exact location inside that radius where it would build its future mini-casino.Īs of October 31, all licensees have now chosen their preferred locations. While the first license was purchased on January 10 for more than six times the required minimum bid of $7.5 million, interest steadily waned, then bottomed out altogether, leaving the state with five permits unsold.Įven so, regulators did not come away disappointed - the initial five auctions netted the state a tidy $127 million in revenue.įor each auction, a general location was selected, which in a few cases led to a feisty bidding war. The proceedings started off with a bang, but ended with a whimper. Ten permits were originally put up for auction, giving owners the right to build miniature versions of their properties and offer a limited number of slot machines and table games. Last year, PA lawmakers not only legalized a host of online gambling verticals, but also gave the state’s land-based slots licensees the chance to expand physically through the purchase of a Category 4 satellite casino license.

Pennsylvania satellite casinos