Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board Awards Category 4 License in Berks County

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Jun 12, 2019, 14:10 ET

HARRISBURG, Pa., June 12, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board today voted unanimously to award a license to Mountainview Thoroughbred Racing Association, LLC (Penn National) to construct a Category 4 casino in Caervarnon Township, Berks County.

The award concludes a process the Board began on April 4, 2018 when Mountainview Thoroughbred Racing Association secured a 15-mile radius area in which it could locate a casino with a winning bid of $7,500,003 at the fifth Category 4 auction held by the Board. They filed an application with the Board on October 31, 2018 to locate the facility just off the Morgantown exit of the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

Subsequently, the Board conducted an in-depth background investigation of the application along with the collection of public input from citizens, community groups and public officials at a hearing held in Caervarnon Township on March 4^th of this year. Today, prior to its vote, the Board held a final licensing hearing in which representatives of Mountainview Thoroughbred Racing were questioned by Board members about the project.

A Category 4 Slot Machine License permits the entity to operate between 300 and 750 slot machines. The entity could also petition for permission to initially operate up to 30 table games for an additional fee of $2.5 million with the capability of adding an additional 10 tables games after its first year of operation.

According to information presented today to the Board, Hollywood Casino Morgantown will offer:

an 89,500 square foot new facility
750 slot machines
30 table games with an anticipated expansion to 40 tables
a sportsbook
dining and entertainment facilities

The facility, which expects to create 275 construction jobs, is targeting a late 2020 opening. When that occurs, Hollywood Casino Morgantown would have 250 Full Time Equivalent jobs.

The approval of the project followed a hearing held today in Harrisburg in which Board members were provided an update and asked questions of the representatives of Mountainview Thoroughbred Racing Association.

About the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board:

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board is tasked to oversee all aspects of the state's casino industry, including sports wagering offered currently at eight locations and through one online outlet. The oversight also includes other new gaming initiatives, expected to be launched in the coming months, which were created through Act 42 of 2017, an amendment to the Race Horse Development and Gaming Act.

The Commonwealth's casino industry currently consists of 10 stand-alone and racetrack casinos in operation, along with the two smaller resort casinos. These facilities collectively employ over 16,000 people and annually generate approximately $1.4 billion in tax revenue from slot machine and table games play. The largest portion of that money is used for property tax reduction to Pennsylvania homeowners.

Additional information about both the PGCB's gaming regulatory efforts and Pennsylvania's gaming industry can be found at gamingcontrolboard.pa.gov. You can also follow the agency on Twitter by choosing @PAGamingControl.