Sale Of Sands Casino Bethlehem Pa

Pennsylvania’s leader in table games is finally getting its new owner.

Sands relies on tables and slots at its Macau properties. The Sands sale makes sense considering both organizations’ business models, and MGM is wise to acquire the Sands. It is Pennsylvania’s second-highest grossing casino in this fiscal year. In fact, the Sands topped Parx for the most table games revenue in February. You can always find a thrilling new adventure playing the slots or tables at Sands Bethlehem. The sale of the Bethlehem Sands casino should also bring a healthy change of perspective. The Bethlehem casino will become just the 10th property owned by the Wind Creek group. It is estimated that 20% of Wind Creek’s earnings will arrive via the Wind Creek Bethlehem. The Bethlehem casino opened in 2009 on the site of Bethlehem Steel's former headquarters plant. RECOMMENDED FOR YOU Sands spent more than $800 million on the casino as well as a shopping mall. 21, the Sands and Wind Creek’s PCI Gaming Authority filed an official change of ownership petition with the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board that details how this sale will go down.

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) officially approved the sale of Sands Bethlehem Casino to Wind Creek Hospitality, an affiliate of Alabama’s Poarch Band of Creek Indians. The $1.3 billion deal wrapped Friday, finalizing a process that began in March 2018.

Wind Creek’s rebranding and renovations begin immediately

The casino will be renamed Wind Creek Bethlehem. The new owners will invest $15 million in rebranding efforts, which will include changing out signs at the entrance, hotel, event center, and outlet mall.

According toLehigh Valley Live, renovation efforts will go much further. Approximately $340 million will be spent to add another hotel tower with nearly 300 rooms and create an additional 42,000 square feet to the event center.

Water park planned to enhance tourism

The Wind Creek group is also hoping to build a 300,000-square-foot water and adventure park, along with a third 400-450 room hotel on the property.

In comments made to the PGCB, Wind Creek officials declared their desire to make the Bethlehem property the “No. 1 resort destination in the Northeast.”

Ownership change should bring greater focus to the casino property

The sale of the Bethlehem Sands casino should also bring a healthy change of perspective. The Bethlehem casino will become just the 10th property owned by the Wind Creek group.

It is estimated that 20% of Wind Creek’s earnings will arrive via the Wind Creek Bethlehem. In contrast, Sands Corporation has a much larger portfolio that includes international mega resorts.

Employees will stay on under new ownership

Employees at the Bethlehem casino, which has been open for more than a decade, will also be able to stay on with the new management team.

“One of the things that drew us to this property is the quality and experience of the service-minded employees,” Wind Creek Hospitality President and CEO James Dorris said in a press release Monday. “Each of the nine executives has accepted a multi-year contract with us, and we hope that all team members want to continue their work here as part of the Wind Creek family. We will need them as we grow the offerings at Wind Creek Bethlehem.”

Wind Creek will look to build on Bethlehem’s gambling success

According to PennLive, Pennsylvania’s total casino revenue in 2018 was the highest total ever. Sands Bethlehem played a key role in that, finishing first in table games revenue and third in slot machine revenue among Pennsylvania’s casinos.

Now, the new owners will look to enhance those numbers. Many upgrades are planned for the property. Wind Creek Hospitality will also introduce its rewards program to its new customers. The Wind Creek Rewards program offers travel perks to its Caribbean resorts Renaissance Aruba Resort and Casino, and Renaissance Curacao Resort and Casino.

With all that is planned for the property, the future for Wind Creek Bethlehem should be an exciting one.

Alicia Miller Karner, Bethlehem’s community and economic development director, may have said it best to theMorning Call.

“To have the sale in our rearview mirror allows us to really look forward to the development.”

We finally know just what Wind Creek Hospitality is buying from Las Vegas Sands Corp.

Last March, the affiliate of an Alabama-based Indian tribe and the Sands announced they’d reached a $1.3 billion deal to sell the Bethlehem casino. But just what was at stake in the sale was not disclosed.

Sale Of Sands Casino Bethlehem Pa Event Center

Was it just the casino and outlet mall? What about the No. 2 Machine Shop and the Steel General Office building? How about the annex and satellite parking lots, which the SteelStacks complex depends on?

On Feb. 21, the Sands and Wind Creek’s PCI Gaming Authority filed an official change of ownership petition with the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board that details how this sale will go down. The board has not yet scheduled a hearing on the request.

Today, Las Vegas Sands is the majority owner of Sands BethWorks Gaming LLC, which owns the events center, casino and surrounding land totaling about 56 acres. Local attorney and developer Michael Perrucci, New York real estate developer Barry Gosin and their business partners have about a 10 percent share in BethWorks Gaming.

The rest of the land, almost 61 acres, is owned by Sands BethWorks Retail LLC, and ownership is split 50/50 between the Sands and Perrucci and his partners. BethWorks Retail’s holdings include the outlet mall, the blast furnaces, the Steel General Office building, No. 2 Machine Shop and several parking lots.

If it all shakes out as planned, the Sands will sell Wind Creek the casino, outlet mall, events center, hotel and some parking lots. Perrucci and his investment partners will sell off their stake but retain ownership of the property and execute a ground lease with Wind Creek, according to the filing.

Perrucci declined to comment on the details of the ground lease, citing a nondisclosure agreement preventing him from commenting on the deal.

“We will retain the SGO and the annex and certain parts of parking lots,” he said. “We are working closely with Wind Creek and the Sands.”

Sands spokeswoman Julia Corwin, who will stay on the Wind Creek team after the sale, did not respond to messages seeking comment.

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Once the sale is finalized, Wind Creek plans to immediately invest $190 million into a 300-room hotel expansion and development of the No. 2 Machine Shop, possibly into an indoor water park.

“We’ll control the site,” Arthur Mothershed, vice president of business development for Wind Creek, said during a January interview with lehighvalleylive.com.

Bethlehem officials are quite optimistic about Wind Creek’s plans to immediately reinvest in a property that’s sat in limbo for years, said Alicia Miller Karner, director of community and economic development.

It would seem to be a good sign if Perrucci and his investment partners retain ownership of the deteriorating 13-story, Steel General Office building and annex.

Perrucci’s Peron Development has invested $22 million into developing Five10Flats, a 95-unit luxury apartment building with first-floor restaurants and retail spaces, across the street. Two more buildings are planned and the city sees the projects as vital lynchpins in the ongoing revitalization of East Third Street.

“We finally feel like we are on the cusp of the redevelopment of the site,” Karner said. “We are so optimistic.”

The massive 103-year-old SGO building was headquarters for Bethlehem Steel Corp. until it moved its executives to Martin Tower in 1972. It has sat vacant since the mid-1990s, but various plans have been floated to reuse the building, like apartments, a hotel and office space.

“It is such a critical, important building,” Karner said.

Mayor Bob Donchez feels that the history of the Steel is really encapsulated in the SGO building, not Martin Tower, and he’s made it clear he wants it to be preserved, Karner said. Donchez did not return a phone call seeking comment.

“The SGO has sat empty for decades and it in particular is such a unique building,' Karner said. 'I am looking forward to seeing his plans.”

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board’s investigative and legal teams have 30 days to respond to the petition unless they ask for an extension, which has not happened, said Richard McGarvey, board spokesman. The report is then forwarded to the board to assist them in making their final decision. The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, April 17, and then Wednesday, May 15.

The petition asks the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board to impose a $3.75 million change of ownership fee on the sale, which is what two similar casinos -- Meadows and Presque Isle -- recently paid in sale fees.

Ultimately, it is up to the board to decide what change of ownership fee to charge, McGarvey said, but he confirmed the two casinos are quite similar to the Sands. The only major difference is that both Meadows and Presque Isle operate racetrack.

Sands Casino Bethlehem Pa Sale

In the filing, Wind Creek discloses that it plans to obtain up to $1.4 billion of senior secured first lien credit facilities from Credit Suisse AG and Credit Suisse Securities LLC. That’s a $1.3 billion first lien term loan facility and a $100 million first lien revolving credit facility. PCI Gaming will use the proceeds to buy the Sands; refinance existing debt of PCI and the existing owners and pay some fees and costs.

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Sara K. Satullo may be reached at ssatullo@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @sarasatullo and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.