Dazzling lights and the sounds of slot machines greet visitors as they enter the new Live! Casino Pittsburgh, the $150 million facility that will open soon at Westmoreland Mall in Hempfield.
Seven hundred fifty slot machines and 30 table games have replaced the racks of clothes that once dominated the former Bon-Ton space, with bars and restaurants making it an entertainment destination. The more than 100,000-square-foot facility, owned by Maryland-based The Cordish Companies, is set to open Nov. 24. On Thursday, members of the media were given a tour of the casino.
“This is just the beginning, but we think it’s an incredibly exciting beginning,” said Reed Cordish, principal with The Cordish Companies.
On the first floor of the two-story facility is Guy Fieri’s American Kitchen + Bar, which is near the entrance to allow people younger than 21 to access the restaurant. On the casino floor is a high-limit area featuring its own bar. Another bar is located near the sportsbook, which is in partnership with FanDuel.
The space is home to a 45-foot television screen that leads up to the second-floor restaurant Sports & Social Steel City. The 445-seat restaurant and bar space also includes a four-lane bowling alley, Skee-ball, a golf simulator, darts, basketball hoops, pingpong tables and shuffleboard.
Also on the second floor are a banquet space and PBR Pittsburgh, which was announced recently. The country-themed bar is the 10th in the Professional Bull Riders restaurant chain. The space will feature a mechanical riding bull, private VIP booths and the “best in country music,” officials said. The restaurant is scheduled to open next year.
“We’re going to raise the bar on everything you expected,” said Rob Norton, president of Cordish Gaming Group.
Sean Sullivan, general manager of the facility, said he expects other entities to replicate the venue’s mix of gaming and entertainment, noting, “This is a unique opportunity, and they brought it to Westmoreland County.”
Overall, the project is expected to have more than $188 million in annual economic impact, with an additional $148 million impact from construction.
“We’ve done this in one year and, during that time, it was a very hard time for the country,” Cordish said. “I think we’re probably most proud that we created 1,000 construction jobs and over 500 permanent jobs.”
