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Posted on: March 15, 2023, 12:06h.
Last updated on: March 15, 2023, 12:42h.
Parx Casino in Bensalem, Pa., about 10 miles north of downtown Philadelphia, is finally moving forward with the construction of its on-site resort hotel.
The Bensalem Township Council on Monday evening signed off on Parx’s plans to construct a 13-story hotel with about 300 guestrooms. The facility will include two new restaurants and a 14,000-square-foot event space. One of the restaurants will be located on the top level of the hotel with a rooftop component.
Parx owner-operator Greenwood Gaming and Entertainment acquired a slots license from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) in September 2006, the same year the state legalized slot machines at horse racetracks. Greenwood opened the slots facility in December 2006.
After Pennsylvania lawmakers expanded gaming to include table games, Parx brought live dealers to the casino in 2009. Parx is a modified spelling of the racetrack’s former name — Philadelphia Park Racetrack.
Finally Ready for Hotel
Parx told the PGCB more than a decade ago that its master plan for the property included an on-site hotel. Parx is an exception in the Philly gaming market, as Rivers Casino Philadelphia, Live! Casino Hotel Philadelphia, Harrah’s Philadelphia, and Valley Forge Casino Resort — the four other land-based casinos in the Philadelphia area — all have hotels.
Parx’s location north of the city, which is actually closer to Trenton than Philly, has relied more on drive-in traffic than the other Philadelphia casinos. Economic concerns and a pandemic kept Parx’s hotel plans on hold until recently.
This is the culmination of a plan that has been in the works for over a decade,” Parx attorney Michael Meginniss told the Bensalem Township Council. “We’re very excited.”
Meginniss informed the local officials that the casino plans to start construction later this year and anticipates the hotel to be finished in 2025. Along with the guestrooms, event space, and restaurants, the Parx hotel will come with a fitness center, spa, and coffee spot.
The 13-story tower will include guestrooms with south-facing downtown city views. An outdoor event lawn is also in the blueprint. The Parx hotel will be connected to the casino through an enclosed walkway.
Investing for the Future
Parx Casino was the richest casino in Pennsylvania last year with gross gaming revenue (GGR) in excess of $617 million. Parx topped the list of Pennsylvania’s 16 brick-and-mortar casinos in terms of land-based GGR.
Parx’s iGaming operations added $44.9 million, and the BetParx Sportsbook another $16 million for a combined 2022 GGR haul of approximately $677.9 million.
Meginniss says the hotel will only further increase Parx’s gaming activity, and ideally, the local economy as a whole.
We think this is going to have a downstream effect not just for the casino but hopefully for other businesses and restaurants in the area,” Meginniss explained. “We look at this as the continuation of an ongoing investment in the Bensalem community.”
Parx recently expanded its footprint in Pennsylvania with the opening of its satellite casino in Cumberland County. Parx Casino Shippensburg opened last month with 500 slot machines and 48 electronic table games.
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