Pennsylvania gaming officials could vote on Mount Airy mini-casino by November

Almost a year after an application was submitted to build a category 4 casino in Big Beaver, state gaming officials are getting close to a decision.

Doug Harbach, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, said the board could vote on Mount Airy Casino’s application for Mount Airy Pittsburgh in Big Beaver in “the next month or two.”

Officials with Mount Airy submitted its 400-plus page formal application to the board in mid-October, The Times reported, detailing construction plans, job opportunities, traffic studies and the economic impact the facility would have on its rural community. 

Harbach said work continues to finalize the application so it can be considered by the board at one of its upcoming public meetings.

The company announced its intent to build a casino and entertainment complex featuring 750 slot machines, 30 table games and three restaurants on more than 100 acres of land near Interstate 376 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike, just off Fairlane Boulevard, in August 2018. Mount Airy has a land-sale agreement in place with prominent Beaver County developer Pat Nardelli’s Castlebrook Development for the undeveloped property, but details of the agreement have not been disclosed.

Mount Airy has proposed two phases of construction for the complex. The first would include a casino and restaurants, while a second phase would expand into additional entertainment opportunities. Mount Airy officials estimate that phase one would bring 300 construction jobs and between 400 and 500 full-time permanent jobs, while phase two would bring an additional 200 to 300 full-time jobs and an undetermined number of construction jobs.

Mount Airy officials have said they expect construction to take about 16 months. If the application is approved later this year, that would push the casino’s grand opening to 2021. Initially, officials had hoped to open the casino by the end of 2019, but following a public hearing for the application last December, an attorney representing the casino said officials anticipated it would open in early-to-mid 2020.

The Gaming Control Board is scheduled to meet twice in October and once in November.