Summary
- Bally’s and SC Gaming want to create a casino near the Pennsylvania State University campus.
- The property would offer casino gaming and sports betting.
- Since the project was approved for land use, the Gaming Control Board has received several complaints.
Back in 2017, the state of Pennsylvania approved a massive gambling expansion plan. This plan included creating satellite casinos, or mini venues. Licensing was made available via a bidding process and several major companies got in on the action. It has taken several years for the smaller gaming venues to get up and running and some are still trying to get started, including a plan by Bally’s Corp.
Bally’s teamed up with Ira Lubert’s SC Gaming to launch a smaller gaming facility in a former Macy’s building at the Nittany Mall. This location is just a few short miles from the Pennsylvania State University, which some feel is an issue.
In September of last year, the College Township Board approved the land use for the casino, and few were on hand to oppose. However, since that time, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board has received several emails in opposition to the plan.
No License Yet
The casino has yet to earn final licensing approval from the Board and its unclear as to why that is. Could it be that the emails are holding the board back from making their decision? According to the Board, the license is pending a background investigation. This is a normal process, but it seems that Bally’s has been waiting a long time to get started.
Some gaming experts say that the delay may be due to an existing lawsuit by Cordish Companies. Last September, Cordish filed a suit stating that the Board improperly accepted a $10 million bid from Ira Lubert, the partner of Bally’s in the casino project.
Cordish says that Lubert’s bid is invalid because he owns SC Gaming Op Co., which has partners that are not eligible for bidding. If the lawsuit is the reason behind the delay, the Board may be awaiting the outcome before it approves the plan to avoid any licensing legitimacy issues in the future.
Negative Emails
Regarding the emails received by the Board, most have a negative connotation towards the Bally casino plans. Residents seem to have the same fears that come up each time a new casino is under consideration, including financial impact on families, property values, an increase in crime and traffic.
There are fears of drunk driving as well as a temptation for college students to try and earn ‘fast money’ via gambling. On the other end of the spectrum, some feel that the casino would help to revitalize the Nittany Mall. Around the country, malls are closing, and many locals wrote in support of allowing the casino to help bring back activity to the mall area.
It will be interesting to see if casino ever comes to fruition and if so, what type of impact it has on the Pennsylvania economy and environment. If legal tie-ups are an issue, we may not see the Bally property open for quite some time.
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