Wind Creek Bethlehem Still Committed to Redeveloping Historic Steel Machine Shop

Posted on: August 2, 2024, 05:55h. 

Last updated on: August 2, 2024, 09:39h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

At its casino relicensing hearing this week, Wind Creek Bethlehem officials told the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) that the resort’ sowners remain committed to redeveloping the property’s historic No. 2 Machine Shop.

Wind Creek Bethlehem Steel No. 2 Machine Shop
The historic No. 2 Machine Shop at Bethlehem Steel. The adjacent Wind Creek Bethlehem casino resort still has plans to redevelop the structure that has sat vacant for nearly a quarter-century. (Image: Flickr)

Alabama’s Poarch Band of Creek Indians’ commercial business unit, Wind Creek Hospitality, bought the eastern Pennsylvania casino from Las Vegas Sands in 2019 for $1.3 billion. At the time, the tribe envisioned big plans for its first major casino resort owned outside of its home state.

COVID-19 delayed those plans, but company reps say Wind Creek is now prepping the resort’s biggest expansion in its history since Sands opened it in 2009.

The casino sits on the former site of Bethlehem Steel, a steelmaking company that provided steel for countless major buildings, including the Empire State Building, Madison Square Garden, the Chrysler Building, and the Golden Gate Bridge. Bethlehem Steel played an instrumental role in manufacturing warships and military weapons for the US during World War I and World War II.

No. 2 Machine Shop Project

Wind Creek Bethlehem last year completed its delayed $160 million hotel and meeting space expansion that took the property to 550 rooms in two towers.

Wind Creek execs told state gaming regulators that the plans floated in 2019 to redevelop the No. 2 Machine Shop, which stands a third of a mile long and has sat vacant since Bethlehem Steel’s closing around the turn of the century, remains fluid.

A master developer has been selected and we’re currently working on feasibility studies that will help to develop that vision,” Patrick Ryan, Wind Creek Bethlehem’s vice president and general manager, told the PGCB. “We’re very excited to see what will come as we continue to review what that looks like.”

Previously, Wind Creek suggested turning the historic structure into an indoor water park with an adjacent 400-room hotel. The company at the time said the project would cost more than a quarter of a billion dollars, as the brick Machine Shop was in despair.

The tribe has pledged to save the structure and preserve its historical significance. The National WWII Museum says in the weeks following the Pearl Harbor bombing, Bethlehem Steel received $1.3 billion in orders from the military — equivalent to about $29 billion today.

Bethlehem Steel fell on difficult times in the 1980s after imported steel became cheaper than domestically produced steel. The company filed for bankruptcy in 2001.

No Changes to Casino?

In seeking a five-year extension of its gaming license, Wind Creek leaders told the state it has no immediate plans to alter its 150,000-square-foot casino floor. That includes continuing to allow smoking in nearly half of the gaming space.

Wind Creek is home to 2,318 slot machines, 143 live dealer table games, 216 electronic table game positions, a 20-table poker room, and a sportsbook.

Wind Creek Bethlehem generated the second most gaming revenue in the state among the 17 brick-and-mortar properties last year. Its slots won $285 million, up 5% from 2023, and trailing only Parx Casino at $386.2 million.

Wind Creek’s tables won more than $241.2 million to easily take the state’s top spot. However, felt win was down for the casino by 1% year over year.

The Bethlehem resort employs nearly 2,000 people and has become a major component of the economic heartbeat of the region, as was its predecessor Bethlehem Steel. The casino has delivered more than $2 billion in state and local funding through gaming taxes since its inception.

The PGCB is expected to vote in favor of extending Wind Creek’s license in the coming months.