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SugarHouse Casino tops off $164 million addition

For nearly five years, SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia's Fishtown neighborhood has been operating in what general manager Wendy Hamilton called an "interim facility."

The expansion at SugarHouse Casino was cause for celebration on Thursday. SugarHouse plans to add 289 slot machines to its current 1,604 when the new space opens, possibly by the end of the year. (TRACIE VAN AUKEN/ For The Inquirer)
The expansion at SugarHouse Casino was cause for celebration on Thursday. SugarHouse plans to add 289 slot machines to its current 1,604 when the new space opens, possibly by the end of the year. (TRACIE VAN AUKEN/ For The Inquirer)Read more

For nearly five years, SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia's Fishtown neighborhood has been operating in what general manager Wendy Hamilton called an "interim facility."

"They've been working with a short deck," Greg Carlin, chief executive of SugarHouse majority owner Rush Street Gaming L.L.C., said at an event Thursday to mark the topping-off of a $164 million addition.

"With this expansion, Wendy and the team will finally have a property that's worthy of their talents," Carlin said.

When SugarHouse was awarded one of Philadelphia's two casino licenses in December 2006, the riverfront property was projected to cost $550 million and have 3,000 slot machines.

Political fighting in the city delayed zoning approvals for SugarHouse, the financial crisis pushed back construction, and then a legal fight among SugarHouse partners threw a roadblock in front of the planned expansion.

Last month, SugarHouse had 1,604 slot machines. It plans to add 289 slots when the new space opens, possibly by the end of the year.

The expansion - which will increase casino floor space by 70 percent, including a multipurpose event space, and add 610 parking spaces - will bring total construction costs to $559 million, according to SugarHouse.

"This expansion is mission-critical for SugarHouse to remain strong in a market that's crazy competitive," Hamilton said.

For years, SugarHouse has been spared competition from the second Philadelphia casino required by the 2004 law that brought gaming halls to Pennsylvania. The Foxwoods project in South Philadelphia, which received the second license, failed to secure financing and lost it.

In November, the second license was awarded to a partnership between Cordish Cos. of Baltimore and the owners of Parx Casino in Bensalem, but SugarHouse and others appealed the decision to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

It is not known when the court will rule. If it decides in favor of the award to the Cordish partnership, zoning hurdles remain. Cordish said during licensing hearings last year that construction of its $450 million Live! Hotel and Casino Philadelphia is expected to take 15 months from when the first permit is issued.

Cordish has been quiet while the license is under appeal, but it is working in the background, a city official said.

"They are trying to ready themselves," said Alan Greenberger, deputy mayor for economic development, who was at the SugarHouse event Thursday and in the past has advocated for a second Philadelphia casino and the jobs it will bring to the city.

A lawyer for Cordish is scheduled to present a master plan for the site to the city Planning Commission on Tuesday.

Carlin, the SugarHouse executive, said that the gambling market has firmed after two rocky years, but that it doesn't change the emphasis on non-gambling entertainment amenities in the expansion.

"We're going to attract a whole new customer base that I don't think is coming currently to SugarHouse, but I'm very concerned about a second casino in Philly," Carlin said.