WITH SO MUCH ON ITS PLATE, IT’S TIME FOR MOUNT AIRY TO EXPAND

To say it’s been a good past 12 months for Mount Airy Casino Resort is an understatement.

They carved out their own legally protected buffer from satellite casinos via PA’s 2017 gambling expansion bill. They’ve partnered with iGaming giant 888 and, this month, they’re kicking off the summer with the launch of a new entertainment complex.

According to the Pocono Record, Mount Airy’s new entertainment venue is 26,000 square feet and will open Memorial Day weekend.

BIGGER ENTERTAINMENT SPACES OPEN UP OPPORTUNITIES

Mount Airy Vice President of Marketing and Gaming Operations Vincent Jordan told the Record the casino and resort had to decline offers for various events because their facilities were inadequate.

“We’ve been approached numerous times and we’ll hold events like MMA, boxing events and things of that nature,” Jordan said.

The new venue will provide seating for 2,200 people, which, according to Jordan, is a much-needed seating increase because “all” of Mount Airy’s shows sell out.

MOUNT AIRY ALSO ADDING 100 ROOMS

Currently, Mount Airy has 188 rooms and, according to Jordan, the hotel runs at a 98 percent occupancy rate, which means on an average night about four rooms go unoccupied.

The property is spending $40 million to add another 100 rooms, nearly doubling the occupancy size of the hotel.

Here’s a quick description of the space, via the Pocono Record:

“The expansion is expected to be completed by spring 2019 and will also feature a 16,000-square-foot addition to their events center. The new space will be more than 20,000 square feet and be able to accommodate dinners for up to 750 people and 1,200 attendees for other events; the space currently holds groups of up to 200 people.”

EXPANSION ADDS TO SATELLITE BUFFER, SATELLITE LICENSE, AND 888 PARTNERSHIP

For the past seven months, momentum has been the buzzword in the Pennsylvania gambling world.

The landmark gambling expansion legislation passed in Oct. 2017 guaranteed millions of extra dollars in tax revenue for the state and, of course, the chance to casinos to rake in tens of millions in slots and table game revenue from satellite casinos as well as online casinos and slots.

Mount Airy came away from the legislation with an extra perk — a one-county buffer on all sides of their county lines to protect them from the construction of satellite casinos by competing casinos.

Exactly why the new law protected Mount Airy alone and no other property is a source of speculation.

For Mount Airy, though, it was a boon, if for no other reason than they don’t have to worry about competing mini-casinos stealing any inbound traffic to their brick-and-mortar casino.

The new construction and the satellite buffer, along with Mount Airy’s winning bid for a satellite this past February, put the casino in prime position to head into 2019 with just about as much momentum as they could possibly muster in a few short years.

In addition to these developments, the casino’s partnership with international online gambling titan 888 will certainly add to their revenue considering the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board may allow 888 to operate multiple sites under Mount Airy’s single online gambling license.