Hotel and Casino Philadelphia is a planned casino in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, expected to open in 2020. It is planned to have 240 hotel rooms, 2,000 slot machines, and 125 table games. It is being developed by The Cordish Companies. Cordish also operates Xfinity Live! Philadelphia nearby. SOUTH PHILLY’S LIVE! CASINO APPROVED TO OPEN IN DECEMBER 2020!

• When Will Philly Live Casino Open Thanksgiving Day
• Philly Live Casino Jobs
• Philly Live Casino News
• When Will Philly Live Casino Open

The Cordish Company hopes to have an online sportsbook live by the end of next fall before it opens its South Philly gaming/dining/entertainment facility during the fourth quarter of 2020, company official Joe Weinberg said Thursday.

There is no operator in place yet for the sportsbook. Though the Philly Live! casino project got preliminary approval from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) earlier this week.

No sportsbook partner named yet

“We’re working through the process,” said Weinberg just before a topping off ceremony for Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia.

Construction continued through the hoopla and ceremony, underscoring the company’s urgency to move ahead on the project adjacent to Philadephia’s sports complexes and facing entrances to both I-76 and I-95.

The project, once known as Stadium Casino, has had some lengthy delays.

Team venues in walking distance

Venues for the Flyers, Sixers, Phillies, and Eagles are within walking distance. Those sports locationsdraw 8.5 million visitors each year

The complex is also close to Xfinity Live!, a decade-old partnership between Cordish and Comcast-Spectacor combining sports, entertainment, and broadcasting for NBC.

As the only casino in the Philly region which will have a hotel, Weinberg said Live! will be the area’s upcoming “sports, gaming, and hospitality destination.”

Live! should grow the casino market

While the opening of the facility will reconfigure the region’s casino market, Weinberg predicted the “new excitement” of having an accessible facility near sports facilities will “grow and invigorate the market.”

He said Cordish, a family-owned real estate development business headquartered in Baltimore which opened the Maryland Live! Casino in 2012, isn’t worried about oversaturating the Philadelphia gaming market.

Given the frequency of sporting events through all seasons, Weinberg said he expects ongoing tie-ins between the facility and the Philadelphia teams and sporting arenas with “lots of customer experience and partnerships.”

He added:

“This is one of the spectacular locations in the country.”

The site means it can draw in visitors from out of state and then retain them with dining and a top hotel at 900 Packer Avenue, he said. The location is convenient to New Jersey via the Walt Whitman Bridge.

The South Philadelphia Turf Club Sportsbook is directly across the street.

Live! meant to be an experience

Here is a look at several renderings of the new casino:

The finished casino should hold:

• 2,200 slot machines and electronic table games
• Retail sportsbook,
• 150 table games
• 200-room hotel
• Restaurants
• Entertainment spaces
• Parking garage
• Valet service

In a first, the casino plans include an esports arena too.

David Cordish, chairman of the company, summed up the appeal of the site in a statement:

“Sports fans, foodies, gaming enthusiasts, concert-goers, and anyone looking for a night of fun and excitement only have to make one stop to experience it all.”

Philly is integral to the casino project

Company officials repeatedly emphasized their desire to work with and share with the community and promote all of Philadephia.

Even the music at the event was Philly-themed, with a recording of legendary Philly jazz saxophonist John Coltrane riffing his signature tune, Giant Steps, starting things off and the Rocky theme blaring as the final girder fitted into the steel superstructure.

The company is creating 2,000 permanent jobs and another 3,000 construction jobs. About $100 million in tax revenue will go to Philadelphia in the first five years. Another $25 million should go to the school district.

Cordish still expanding in PA

Casino expansion plans continue for the company in Pennsylvania.

Cordish has already done site work in Western PA’s Westmoreland County aimed at transforming a vacant mall space into a Class 4 mini-casino.

The busy company announced a contractor for the $150 million project on Thursday. The mini-casino site is 30 miles from Pittsburgh. The ceremonial groundbreaking is Nov. 13.

When Will Philly Live Casino Open Thanksgiving Day

The new Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia continues to move toward an opening in early 2021. When that happens, there will be live poker.

According to a casino representative, the new property will feature a 29-table poker room. No official opening date has been announced as yet.

Live! Philly eyeing mid-January for poker room launch

Earlier today, poker reporter Anthony Cicali tweeted confirmation that Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia will have a poker room. Cicali shared a short video showing movers bringing a poker table into the casino and unwrapping it.

According to Cicali’s sources, “They are looking to launch mid-January.”

Confirmed!!! Philly Live will have a poker room .. here’s first look and inside sources tell me they are looking to launch mid January @LiveCasinoPHLpic.twitter.com/KOQk3itSUt

— Anthony F Cicali III (@EataHoagie) December 9, 2020

When asked, “Will you guys have poker, and if, so will it be immediately?” via Instagram, a Live! rep responded:

“We will have a poker room, however with covid restrictions, we won’t know until we open.”

The casino was developed and is owned by The Cordish Companies, which also operates Xfinity Live! Philadelphia. Like other Philadelphia casinos, Xfinity Live! has temporarily closed due to citywide restrictions caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

All Philadelphia casinos must remain closed until Jan. 1, 2021, at the earliest, meaning the opening of Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia will not happen until the new year.

Located in the South Philadelphia Stadium Entertainment District, Live! Philly will feature 2,200 slot machines and over 125 table games.

While plans move ahead toward the casino’s grand opening, the PlayLive! Online Casino and FanDuel-powered online sportsbook are already up and running.

PA poker rooms return slowly, continue to face challenges

It has been a challenging year for Pennsylvania poker rooms, all of which were forced to close in mid-March due to the pandemic. Casinos began to reopen over the summer, but the poker rooms remained shut down as dictated by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB)‘s COVID-19 Casino Reopening Protocols.

Philly Live Casino Jobs

It wasn’t until early October that some of the poker rooms began submitting reopening plans to the PGCB.

Five rooms reopened in late October and early November. They included the rooms at Mohegan Sun Pocono, Mount Airy Casino, The Meadows Racetrack & Casino, Rivers Casino Pittsburgh and Rivers Casino Philadelphia.

Rivers Casino Philadelphia opened its poker room as well, although the citywide restrictions forced the casino to close once again on Nov. 20.

Parx Casino in Bensalem plans to reopen the state’s largest poker room on Dec. 15.

Philly Live Casino News

The poker rooms at Hollywood Casino, Presque Isle Downs and Wind Creek Casino have all remain shuttered. A representative from Wind Creek informed PlayPennsylvania in late November that the casino had no update to provide regarding when the poker room might reopen.

Meanwhile, one of the closed poker rooms, the WSOP-branded one at Harrah’s Philadelphia, will not be reopening. In August, it became known that Harrah’s intended to close its poker room permanently.

When Will Philly Live Casino Open

For the latest on PA poker room reopenings and plans, visit our live updates page.