The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board has voted unanimously to award a license to GW Cumberland Op. Co. (Greenwood Gaming & Entertainment) to construct a Category 4 casino in Shippensburg Township, Cumberland County.
A Category 4 Slot Machine License would permit 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 $2.5m with the capability of adding an additional 10 table games after its first year of operation.
The table games certificate was also approved by the board at its public meeting.
The award concluded a process that began in February 2018 when Greenwood Gaming & Entertainment secured the right to locate a casino with a winning bid of more than $8.1m at the fourth Category 4 auction held by the board.
Greenwood Gaming & Entertainment had filed an application with the board later that year to locate a newly constructed facility just off Exit 27 of Route 81, but it later amended the application to place the casino in a former Lowe’s Home Supply store in the Shippen Town Center in the same municipality.
An in-depth investigation, initiated by the board, followed the application along with the collection of public input from citizens, community groups and public officials at hearings held in Shippensburg Township on March 25, 2019. A second hearing was held on May 20, 2021, following the applicant’s change of the proposed casino’s location.
Prior to its vote to approve construction, the board held a final licensing hearing in which representatives of GW Cumberland Op. Co. were questioned by board members about the project.
According to information presented to the board, Parx Casino Shippensburg will offer 500 slot machines, electronic game tables, a restaurant and a sports bar facility at its opening.
The 73,000 square-foot facility, which will be non-smoking, expects to create 175 construction jobs and is targeting a late 2022 opening. When that occurs, Parx Casino Shippensburg would expect to have more than 125 full-time equivalent permanent jobs.
The casino also plans to offer sports wagering in the future.
