Which Pa Casinos Are Closed

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Pennsylvania has become the third state to again close its casino industry due to resurging COVID-19 infections.

Two casinos in Pennsylvania have reopened and another one is reopening Friday, while nine others remain closed temporarily because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course – Closed to the public as of Tuesday, March 17 – 6:00 a.m. Mount Airy Casino Resort – Closed to the public as of Tuesday, March 17 – 6:00 a.m.

In an announcement Thursday, Gov. Tom Wolf and the state’s health secretary said casinos and other businesses would close on Saturday. The shutdown will last through Jan. 4.

Which Pa Casinos Are Closed Casinos

Which Pa Casinos Are Closed

“It has become clear that we need to take further action to protect Pennsylvanians and stop the spread of COVID,” Wolf said. “Today I’m announcing additional, temporary mitigation measures.

Pennsylvania joins both Michigan and Illinois with full casino closures. Michigan closed casinos on Nov. 18 in a move first expected to last three weeks; the casinos will now remain closed until Dec. 20. Illinois casinos closed indefinitely on Nov. 20.

Several additional states have restrictions on casino hours and capacity.

“While December is traditionally a somewhat softer seasonal month, the period between Christmas and New Year’s tends to drive the month and as such, the closure through this period is slightly more meaningful,” Deutsche Bank gaming analyst Carlo Santarelli told investors.

The City of Philadelphia ordered the Rivers Casino closed on Nov. 20 as part of the city’s efforts to slow the spreading coronavirus. Rivers, which is operated by Rush Street Gaming, is the only casino within city limits.

Now, other Philadelphia-area casinos, including Parx and Harrah’s Philadelphia, will close as well.

Boyd Gaming said it would comply with the order and close its Valley Forge Casino by 12:01 am Saturday. The closure will include all public operations, including the casino, restaurants, and hotel.

“We will not place any Valley Forge team members on furlough at this time,” Boyd Gaming spokesman David Strow said in an email. “Team members will continue to receive regular pay, including tips, as well as benefits through January 4.”

On March 12, Boyd was the first company in the casino industry to experience a government-ordered shutdown when the pandemic forced Wolf to order the closure of businesses in four suburban Philadelphia counties, including Montgomery County, home of the Valley Forge. The property reopened on June 26.

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“As we noted with the closures in Illinois and Michigan, we think it is unrealistic to assume this is the last of the closures, especially with the light at the end of the tunnel identifiable with the vaccine in the first half of 2021,” Santarelli said.

Pennsylvania has 12 casinos and racinos and reported gaming revenues of $3.38 billion in 2019. The Philadelphia market alone ranked No. 7 among the gaming industry’s top 20 commercial markets, according to the American Gaming Association’s 2019 State of the States report.

Santarelli said the investment community has anticipated additional restrictions and closures.

“That said, when the narrative changed from cash burn and liquidity to margin improvements and sports betting, things changed for regional equities,” he said. “Accordingly, we are a bit more cautious of the potential for the currently constructive narrative to again shift back to cash burn, despite liquidity being less of an issue this time around.

Pennsylvania Casinos Locations


Pennsylvania governor Tom Wolf has ordered the closure of various businesses including casinos in an effort to slow down the out-of-control spread of the coronavirus in the Keystone state.

The closure is set to take effect on Saturday, December 12, 2020, at 12:01 a.m. and will end on January 4, 2021, at 8:00 a.m. The orders are the most drastic since Wolf shut down all non-essential businesses last March at the onset of the pandemic. Aside from casinos, the order also covers indoor restaurant dining, sports activities, gyms, museums, bowling alleys, theaters and other entertainments venues. Likewise, all businesses serving the public will be limited to 50% capacity only.

In a statement, Wolf said:

“With these measures in place, we hope to accomplish three goals. First, stop the devastating spread of COVID-19 in the Commonwealth. Second, keep our hospitals and healthcare workers from becoming overwhelmed. And third, help Pennsylvanians get through the holiday season — and closer to a widely available vaccine — as safely as possible.”

COVID-19 Spread

Which Pa Casinos Are Closed

As in the case with many other states in the U.S., Pennsylvania is experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases. With its shutdown, Pennsylvania becomes the third state to declare full casino shutdown. Last November 18, Michigan closed all casinos in a move that was first said to be good for three months but now has been changed to indefinitely. Two days after the Wolverine state, Illinois also declared an indefinite shutdown.

Pennsylvania Casino Closures

One of the fears in Pennsylvania is that the hospitals and health care workers could get overwhelmed. As of Thursday noon,there were a total of 5,877 people hospitalized with COVID-19, the most since the pandemic started. Gov. Wolf is hoping that the three-week shutdown of will slow down the numbers.

Pennsylvania Gaming Was Doing Well

Pennsylvania gaming were doing well despite the earlier restrictions. During the third quarter of 2020, the gross gaming revenue (GGR) from land-based casinos, online casinos, and brick-and-mortar sports betting shops totaled $891.3M which is 3% more than the July-September 2019 figures. Requiring them to shut down again will affect whatever gains they had.

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There are a total of 12 Pennsylvania casinos and racinos with a total gaming revenue of $3.38B in 2019. The Philadelphia gaming market ranked 7th among the United States gaming industry’s top markets, per the American Gaming Association’s 2019 State of the States report. Rivers Casino, the only casino within the Philadelphia limits, has been closed since November 20. With the governor’s new orders, the other Philadelphia area casinos including Parx and Harrah’s Philadelphia will now be closed as well.