Wind Creek Casino Allentown Pa

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A new age of casino gambling in the Lehigh Valley will get its start next Monday when Wind Creek Bethlehem reopens for the first time in more than three months. Wind Creek, which closed to the. Sign Up or Sign In to Wind Creek Casino. Sign Up Sign in Sign in.

By Thanksgiving, sports bettors should be able to place in-person wagers at Wind Creek Bethlehem.

• Bring your AAA card to The General Store at The Outlets at Wind Creek Bethlehem and receive a copy of the Outlets at Wind Creek Bethlehem Coupon Book! Open 7 Days a Week! Hourly children's entertainment center and arcade are open for family fun, right here at Wind Creek Bethlehem!
• Please note: Wind Creek Bethlehem has reopened for business following CDC guidelines for safety and social distancing. Please visit their website for further details. SAVOR IT ALL Wind Creek Bethlehem (formerly Sands ® Bethlehem) proudly features three signature eateries by world-renowned Chef Emeril Lagasse. Now Buddy Valastro, star of the hit TLC series Cake Boss™, joins the family of.
• Wind Creek Bethlehem will no longer be escorting minors across the casino floor. Minors are still welcome to dine at The Market if they enter through The Outlets or hotel.

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board granted the casino’s petition to conduct sports wagering at its meeting Wednesday. With the approval in hand, Wind Creek hopes to begin construction of the sportsbook around August 18 with an anticipated opening date about November 21 — or around week 11 of the NFL season.

The sportsbook, to be operated by Betfred, will be built in the current location of Buddy V’s Ristorante. Buddy V’s, which opened at the casino in 2016, will continue to partner with Wind Creek for food and beverage offerings within the sportsbook.

Wind Creek anticipates having roughly 79 TV monitors in the sportsbook. There will be 13 self-service wagering kiosks along with eight cashiers/ticket writers and four supervisors.

“It’s just going to be a beautiful space, really fitted out well,” said Kathy McCracken, Wind Creek Bethlehem’s executive vice president and general manager.

With the sportsbook addition, Wind Creek’s casino floor will swell from 150,709 square feet to 154,129 square feet.

Wind Creek, which has been closed since March 15 amid the pandemic, is one of the last casinos in Pennsylvania to jump into sports betting.

In the Lehigh Valley, the area’s first sportsbook launched in early March at The Downs at Lehigh Valley in Hanover Township, Lehigh County, which is operated by Mohegan Sun Pocono. That sportsbook launched just ahead of coronavirus-related cancellations, which included a major sports betting holiday: the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.

Aside from the sportsbook addition, the Bethlehem facility, which Alabama’s Wind Creek Hospitality bought in May 2019 for $1.3 billion, has many other improvement plans.

The includes a roughly $100 million hotel project.

In a statement, Wind Creek Vice President of Business Development Arthur Mothershed said that while the hotel’s initial groundbreaking was delayed amid the shutdowns, Wind Creek still believes it will be able to complete construction within the original 36-month plan.

“We are working diligently on finalizing construction plans and are confident we will have shovels in the ground this summer,” he said.

Morning Call reporter Christina Tatu contributed to this story.

Morning Call reporter Jon Harris can be reached at 610-820-6779 or at jon.harris@mcall.com.

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For the second time this year, Wind Creek Bethlehem and the other Pennsylvania casinos will be forced to temporarily close to help mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.

In a statement Friday, Wind Creek said it “has committed to paying active salaried and tipped employees,” during the shutdown, which will start at 12:01 a.m. Saturday and is scheduled to expire at 8 a.m. Jan. 4. The casino employs 1,600 people.

During the shutdown, Wind Creek said its casino, restaurants and hotel will be closed. The Wind Creek Event Center and Vision bar will also remain closed.

The Outlets at Wind Creek Bethlehem, meanwhile, will operate at reduced capacity, per the state’s new guidelines of 50% maximum occupancy.

“Wind Creek Bethlehem will continue to work with local and state officials on the evolving situation in the coming weeks,” the casino said.

A little farther north, Mount Airy Casino Resort said in a statement Thursday night that its casino, hotel, spa, golf course and restaurants will be closed to the public during the shutdown. Essential staff will remain on-site to assist with cleaning, sanitizing and maintaining the property.

Mount Airy, in Monroe County, also said it will pay its employees during the shutdown.

As part of a mitigation order announced Thursday by Gov. Tom Wolf, most indoor entertainment venues, including casinos, must temporarily close Saturday.

Wind Creek Casino Bethlehem Reviews

Pennsylvania casinos have been operating at 50% occupancy for several months. That came after a temporary closure amid the first coronavirus wave, which closed Wind Creek for more than 100 days and, at one point, forced the idling of all 989 commercial and tribal casino properties across the country.

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While Wind Creek was closed, which started March 15, the casino paid its then-2,400 employees through the end of May. But, as the downturn entered its third month, Wind Creek furloughed 2,095 workers June 1.

Wind Creek eventually reopened in late June with fewer slot machines, a reservation system and enhanced cleaning efforts. About 1,400 employees were called back to work for the reopening, and Wind Creek hoped to recall more as capacity and business increased.

In July, the casino’s first full month since that reopening, Wind Creek logged gambling revenue of $28 million, which was a 38% year-over-year decline. That was the casino’s lowest full month of gambling revenue since January 2011, when the then-Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem was only about six months into offering table games.

By late September, Wind Creek cut about 450 jobs — about 20% of its payroll — due to significantly lower business volumes.

In October, the last month of state data available, Wind Creek recorded gambling revenue of $33.1 million, a 16% decline from $39.6 million a year earlier.

The casino’s online gambling business continues to grow since it launched the platform in late July. The casino recorded about $596,000 in online gambling revenue in October.

And last month, Wind Creek opened its sportsbook in the space formerly occupied by Buddy V’s Ristorante. But, the casino has yet to offer its online sportsbook.

That could have provided a key revenue source over the next three weeks, as Wolf’s order does not affect online gambling regulated by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.

Amid a pandemic that has hammered revenue, Wind Creek has yet to break ground on its planned $100 million hotel expansion. In addition, Wind Creek Hospitality President and CEO Jay Dorris in June said the casino was reconsidering its $250 million plan to transform the old Bethlehem Steel No. 2 Machine Shop into an indoor water park and entertainment complex.

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Morning Call reporter Jon Harris can be reached at 484-280-2866 or at jon.harris@mcall.com.