Pa. Casino Regulators Okay SugarHouse Expansion, Including Smaller Garage Tower
By Tony Romeo
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- SugarHouse Casino officials say construction should take about two years now that the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board has approved a revised plan to expand their waterfront casino.
SugarHouse's original plan was approved even before it opened, but the expansion was held up for years by litigation.
The original plan called for a 10-story parking garage, but SugarHouse General Manager Wendy Hamilton says the casino now will build a seven-story parking tower instead.
"There's a bunch of groups interested in the health of the Delaware River waterfront, and many of them preferred a lower profile garage, so this one is a little bit longer and a little bit lower," Hamilton tells KYW Newsradio.
SugarHouse will double its public space, but some of that will run underneath the parking tower.
Originally, before it acquired table games, the casino's plan was to expand to 3,000 slot machines, but Hamilton says operating experience shows that the optimal number will likely be a bit more than 2,000 slots along with about 80 to 90 table games and a poker room.
There will be six restaurants and an additional 450 casino jobs, she says.
