Mountainview Thoroughbred Racing Association LLC (Penn National) has been given the go-ahead to construct a Category 4 casino in Caervarnon Township, Berks County. The decision was sanctioned by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board which voted unanimously to award the organization a Category 4 Slot Machine License.
The award concludes a process set in motion by the Board on April 4, 2018, when Mountainview Thoroughbred Racing Association secured a 15-mile radius area in which it could locate a casino with a winning bid of $7,500,003 at the fifth Category 4 auction held by the Board. It filed an application with the Board on October 31, 2018 to locate the facility just off the Morgantown exit of the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
Subsequently, the Board conducted an in-depth background investigation of the application along with the collection of public input from citizens, community groups and public officials at a hearing held in Caervarnon Township on March 4 this year. Prior to its vote, the Board held a final licensing hearing in which representatives of Mountainview Thoroughbred Racing were questioned by Board members about the project.
The Category 4 License permits Mountainview to operate between 300 and 750 slot machines. It may also petition for permission to initially operate up to 30 table games for an additional fee of $2.5m with the capability of adding an additional 10 tables games after its first year of operation.
According to information presented today to the Board, Hollywood Casino Morgantown will offer an 89,500 square foot new facility complete with 750 slot machines, 30 table games with an anticipated expansion to 40 tables, and a sportsbook.
