The Big Box Retail Sites In Pennsylvania That Have Been Repurposed As Satellite Casinos
4 of the 5 Permitted "Mini" or "Satellite" casinos licensed in Pennsylvania were created through the adaptive reuse of former Big Box retail space
The Parx Casino in Shippensburg, PA has 500+ slot machines, more than three dozen table games, sports betting kiosks and a 100 seat sports bar and restaurant.
But at just ~73,000 square feet, it is just a “mini-casino.”
Especially when compared to parent company Greenway Racing’s flagship Parx casino and racing venue in Bensalem, PA.
And in accordance with Pennsylvania law which currently permits just five Category 4 land-based mini casinos across the commonwealth.
These mini or “satellite” casinos are smaller casinos that can offer up to 750 slot machines and no more than 40 table games.
One other interesting thing about the Parx Casino in Shippensburg?
It is an adaptive reuse of a former Lowe's Home Improvement store.
The Parx Casino Shippensburg was the fourth satellite casino in Pennsylvania when it opened its doors two years ago this month.
Shippensburg — which is approximately 40 miles southwest of the state capital of Harrisburg — is a town of just under 6,000 people.
But it is situated along Interstate 81 and is home to Shippensburg University, one of the 10 state colleges in Pennsylvania with an enrollment of ~8,300 students.
The former Lowe's store — which was vacated in 2018 — was one of the top spots targeted by Parx for its satellite casino as it already featured a fully-constructed building, access roads and a parking lot.
As a result the Parx satellite casino in the former Lowe’s building was developed much quicker and at far lower cost than if it were a new, ground-up development.
Although Parx is currently using (only) 73,000 square feet of the 140,000 square foot former Lowe's building, it is considering options to expand the casino in the future to utilize the remainder of the property.
The converted in Lowe’s in Shippensburg is one of the few freestanding former Big Box stores to be converted into a casino.
But other former retail properties have also been repurposed as casinos — including several of the four other satellite casinos in Pennsylvania.
The very first satellite casino to open in the state was the Live! Casino Pittsburgh operated by Station Casinos.
It opened in 2020 and is an adaptive reuse of a former 100,000 square foot Bon-Ton department store at the Westmoreland Mall in suburban Pittsburgh.
The following year Penn National Gaming opened Hollywood Casino York — the second Pennsylvania satellite casino — in a former Sears store at the York Galleria Mall in York County, PA.
But one of the more controversial retail-to-satellite casino conversions has yet to be completed despite having been approved back in 2020.
Penn State University alumnus Ira Lubert bid just over $10 MM for a license to open a satellite casino near the university’s main campus in State College, PA.
Like several of the others, the State College satellite casino was also planned to re-occupy a vacated anchor store — the former Macy’s at the Nittany Mall.
The proposed State College casino, however, was met with significant opposition by local residents due to concerns over crime and its potential negative impact on the local economy and the student population at Penn State.
There were also allegations from a rival bidder that Lubert had failed to abide by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board’s rules and regulations.
The Project was ultimately tied up by lawsuits for four years until the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled last July in favor of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board and Lubert’s gaming company.
Lubert had initially partnered with Bally’s to develop the proposed $120 MM satellite casino in the former Macy’s but Bally’s pulled out of the project in September 2024.
Lubert’s company — SC Gaming — is still moving forward with the adaptive reuse, though, and construction commenced last month at the former Macy’s.
The Project now plans to open in the first half of 2026 as the 4th of 5 Pennsylvania satellite casinos that were repurposes of former Big Box retail buildings.
