Harrah’s Chester Casino is about to get even more competition in the cutthroat war for Pennsylvania gamblers’ dollars.
From itself.
That’s because the Chester facility’s parent company confirmed yesterday what had been talked about for weeks, the gambling giant is stepping in as an investor and partner in the troubled Foxwoods Casino site on the Philadelphia waterfront.
That means even more competition for the Chester casino, which already is fending off competition in both directions on I-95, Delaware Park to the south, Sugar House in Philly and Parx in Bucks County.
Foxwoods will be just 15 miles away, northbound on I-95. Depending on traffic, that little jaunt can be accomplished in about 15 minutes. (Yeah, I know, you’re saying that more likely because of traffic you’d do it in about 45 minutes!)
Harrah’s will partner with a local investor group to build a $338 million casino with 1,500 slots and 70 table games on Columbus Avenue. They hope to be up and running in as little as 20 months.
Which should be causing some furrowed brows in Chester, where slots revenue has been down now for the better part of a year. Buoyed by the arrival of table games, Harrah’s Chester took a hit when Sugar House opened its doors in September.
Some reports indicate slots revenue could be off as much as 12 percent in Chester since the opening of the Philly casino.
That likely will not improve with a second Philly casino.
I guess one way of looking at it is the money is still going into Harrah’s pockets, just from another facility.
That does not help either the county or city, which derive their revenue from the “take” at Harrah’s Chester.
Everyone knows that there are losers when it comes to expansion of legalized gambling.
I’m beginning to wonder if Harrah’s Chester is going to be one of them.
From itself.
That’s because the Chester facility’s parent company confirmed yesterday what had been talked about for weeks, the gambling giant is stepping in as an investor and partner in the troubled Foxwoods Casino site on the Philadelphia waterfront.
That means even more competition for the Chester casino, which already is fending off competition in both directions on I-95, Delaware Park to the south, Sugar House in Philly and Parx in Bucks County.
Foxwoods will be just 15 miles away, northbound on I-95. Depending on traffic, that little jaunt can be accomplished in about 15 minutes. (Yeah, I know, you’re saying that more likely because of traffic you’d do it in about 45 minutes!)
Harrah’s will partner with a local investor group to build a $338 million casino with 1,500 slots and 70 table games on Columbus Avenue. They hope to be up and running in as little as 20 months.
Which should be causing some furrowed brows in Chester, where slots revenue has been down now for the better part of a year. Buoyed by the arrival of table games, Harrah’s Chester took a hit when Sugar House opened its doors in September.
Some reports indicate slots revenue could be off as much as 12 percent in Chester since the opening of the Philly casino.
That likely will not improve with a second Philly casino.
I guess one way of looking at it is the money is still going into Harrah’s pockets, just from another facility.
That does not help either the county or city, which derive their revenue from the “take” at Harrah’s Chester.
Everyone knows that there are losers when it comes to expansion of legalized gambling.
I’m beginning to wonder if Harrah’s Chester is going to be one of them.
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