The Live! Casino Pittsburgh is about to become reality. The mini casino located at the former Bon Ton department store at the Westmoreland Mall is almost close to completion as construction continues at a rapid pace. Work is happening all around, from construction the interior to adding slot machines and flooring. The Cordish Companies casino is on target to open soon, with a tentative date set for November. So far, the venue will open as expected in just two months.
Ready to Go
The Live! Casino Pittsburhg is the brainchild of the Cordish Companies affiliate Stadium Casino Westmoreland RE, LLC. The goal of Live! is to create an experience, throwing a party and giving players the option to enjoy different forms of entertainment.
The $150 million casino should open in late November, during a time when casinos are struggling to retain business. Casinos across the US closed back in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic and only have just now reopened.
The shutdown caused venues to lose money and now that they are reopened, the facilities can only operate based on a lower capacity. In Pennsylvania, casinos can offer services at 50% capacity. If this doesn’t change by the time Live! is ready to open, the casino will have to adhere to this requirement.
Already, existing casinos in the state have suffered from lower revenues when last month’s totals were compared to August of last year. For Meadows Racetrack and Casino, the venue has seen a decrease of 26.5%. For the Rivers Casino Pittsburgh, the casino has seen a smaller 23% decrease last month.
Variety of Entertainment
For the Live! venue, general manager Sean Sullivan feels that while the casino will be operating at a lower capacity and with social distancing restrictions in place, the venue will offer entertainment options and safety measures that will help the operator be successful.
The casino will offer 30 table games and 750 slot machines, due to being a satellite casino. A sportsbook will be located on the ground floor of the casino and operated by FanDuel. Non-gambling activities will be offered on the second floor and will include table tennis, darts, a golf simulator and shuffleboard. Dining and bars are also located on this level.
The non-gaming and dining area is called Sports & Social Steel City. This level is considered family friendly and a nice alternative for those who are visiting with young children. The venue looks at this level as a place where visitors can come eat, play games, hang out our watch sports.
There are separate entrances to the Sports & Social Steel City area, so visitors can completely skip the casino if they so choose. To enter the casino area, guests must be 21 years of age or older.
For additional safety precautions due to COVID-19, the casino will place plexiglass between each slot game. Chips, counters and gaming tables will be cleaned on a regular basis. The property will also have thermal cameras at each entrance to help detect any visitor that may have a fever.
