Wind Creek Bethlehem, one of the casinos in Pennsylvania, has been greenlit to reduce the total number of its slot machines. This move mirrors what many venues have done to adapt to the current trends.
Wind Creek to Reduce Slots
Wind Creek announced its intention to reduce its overall slots count by 655 back in February. To elaborate, the casino will remove 983 of its existing 2,973 machines and will replace 328 of them with newer and more popular ones. In the end, Wind Creek will have a final number of 2,318 slot machines.
The move has now been approved by Pennsylvania’s Gaming Control Board which requires its licensees to inform it about any major changes to their casino floors. As per the law, the Regulator allows local casinos to have up to 5,000 machines. However, none of the operators has ever adopted so many.
On the contrary, major companies are now scaling their operations down. This tendency was prompted by the trouble COVID-19 caused. During the pandemic, many companies had to reduce the number of operational slots for social distancing. Surprisingly, this turned out to be a successful strategy and helped operators optimize their business without losing revenue.
The Casino Wants Customers to Feel Comfortable
According to Rebecca Gorgas, Wind Creek’s director of gaming operations, no more than half of the machines in the casino are in play at the same time. By reducing the overall number of slots, the venue can provide customers with greater comfort and safety.
To further illustrate her point, Gorgas explained that on airplanes no one really wants to sit in the middle seat. Using that logic, Wind Creek will reduce its overall number of slots to provide more breathing space to its customers.
Gorgas said that the renovations should be complete in about 10 months.
Other News Involving the PGCB
The Gaming Control Board recently fined several gambling companies for breaching various rules. The regulator handed down $7,500 fines to Stadium Casino Westmoreland for allowing a self-excluded player to gamble and to TDN Money Systems for failing to inform the authority of a recent change of ownership. CPC Bucks County, on the other hand, provided several customers with copious amounts of alcohol, leading to multiple intoxications. For this, it received a $17,500 fine.
Meanwhile, the PGCB continues to have legal trouble with Pace-O-Matic. The skill-based operator continues to allege that the authority is subservient to the casino industry and is bullying skill-based operators on its behalf.