Industry News
Rivers Casino Philadelphia Plans Boutique Luxury Hotel in Fishtown
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Rivers Casino Philadelphia has announced that it will open a 62-suite boutique luxury hotel inside The Battery, the mixed-use lifestyle campus underway on Beach Street in Fishtown.
The new casino hotel will be called “Riversuites,” and it promises a high-end experience. The upscale hotel will occupy four dedicated floors of The Battery’s existing adaptive reuse complex, creating a rarity for Philly — a waterfront hotel. The casino could be accepting reservations as early as this fall.
Guest suites are cavernous by hotel standards, averaging 854 square feet each, with even larger options up to 2266 square feet. One-, two- and three-bedroom accommodations are available. Every suite includes a full kitchen. Several apartment-style suites feature patios or bi-level lofts, with sleeping rooms upstairs and living room and kitchen below.
Unobstructed views of the Delaware River extend well beyond the Pennsylvania and New Jersey shorelines past the Ben Franklin Bridge. On the street side, running parallel to the river, hotel guests will enjoy one of Philly’s hottest neighborhoods — Fishtown.
With Fishtown’s walkable streets and burgeoning cultural and culinary offerings, Riversuites guests will be just steps away from a growing inventory of trendy restaurants, coffee shops, craft brewhouses, distilleries, retail stores, galleries, and other recreation.
“A hotel addition for Rivers Casino Philadelphia has always been part of the master plan for our Fishtown property. The location and grandeur of The Battery allowed us to join a neighboring parcel, already in progress, with historic Philly significance,” said Tim Drehkoff, CEO of Rivers Casino and Rush Street Gaming.
In addition to proximity to Fishtown, panoramic views and affiliation with the casino itself, Riversuites will boast several other traditional and unconventional amenities: co-working areas, lobby gathering spaces, a billiards table — and an indoor basketball court.
The Battery is an architectural stunner designed in Beaux-Arts classical revival style by famed turn-of-the-century Philly architect John Windrim. Windrim’s prolific portfolio also includes The Franklin Institute, the Philadelphia Municipal Court and the provost’s residence at Penn.
Formerly the Delaware Power Station, the 11-acre Beach Street complex was commissioned as a PECO power plant in the early 1900s. By the 1950s, it was the utility company’s largest, providing power to nearly half of Philadelphia. Eight 167-foot-tall chimneys will remain as historic architectural elements.
Today, The Battery is a $154 million redevelopment initiative currently underway by its Philadelphia-based owner, Lubert-Adler Real Estate Funds. The active phase includes 173 apartments, 135,000 square feet of office space and 100,000 square feet of event space — and now a hotel.
“We saw in the old PECO power plant an opportunity to create a spectacular experience on Philadelphia’s waterfront that could be a home for both a residential community as well as an eclectic mix of commercial enterprises that will draw people to an area of the city that has until now been underused. It is very exciting to see our vision for this project come to fruition, with our first residents moving in and Rivers Casino announcing its plans for a beautiful new hotel overlooking the river, and we are thrilled to welcome them to The Battery,” said Leonard Klehr, vice chairman of Lubert-Adler.
The casino’s 22-acre waterfront property already connects with The Battery via the Delaware Riverwalk by way of picturesque Penn Treaty Park. The two properties are an eight-minute walk or a five-minute ride apart. Rivers will run a complimentary 24/7 shuttle with 24/7 security and will offer 24/7 valet parking.
Riversuites will be operated by Rivers Casino Philadelphia, which is owned and operated by Rush Street Gaming and its affiliates. Koo Architecture of Chicago is designing the Riversuites hotel. Strada of Philadelphia is the architect for The Battery.
“VIPs and out-of-town guests have long inquired about overnight stays at Rivers Casino Philadelphia, and they’re about to get a penthouse-style option. We’re thrilled to introduce this entirely unexpected luxury suites collection — that’s exclusive to Rivers Philly,” said Eric Althaus, general manager of the casino.
The Riversuites hotel project represents a $7 million privately funded investment. The new hotel will add more than 40 permanent hospitality jobs to the casino’s existing 1100-plus workforce. Riversuites at The Battery is expected to open by year-end 2023.
Industry News
Penn Entertainment to Lay Off About 100 Employees
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Penn Entertainment plans to lay off about 100 employees as it focuses on growth for ESPN Bet.
CEO Jay Snowden told staff members in an internal email that the changes will enhance operational efficiencies following its 2021 acquisition of Canadian media and gaming powerhouse theScore.
The company employs about 20,000 people.
“When PENN acquired theScore, we hit the ground running with the build-out of our proprietary tech stack and the migration of our sportsbook to theScore’s best-in-class-platform,” Snowden wrote in the memo. “This led us to temporarily set aside any potential organizational changes that would typically follow a major acquisition.”
Penn went on to say it’s embarking on a new phase of growth in its interactive business, which includes ESPN Bet, a $2 billion branding partnership with Disney’s ESPN. Snowden said the initiatives include product enhancements and deeper integration into ESPN’s ecosystem.
Investors are impatient for Penn to demonstrate its muscle with the rebranded sportsbook, and activist investor Donerail Group has called on the board to sell the casino company.
Rumors have swirled about the potential interest from many other online gaming and brick-and-mortar casino companies.
Truist gaming analyst Barry Jonas wrote in a note Thursday that a sale is unlikely in the near term because of the complexity of a transaction that would likely involve major divestitures.
Penn’s release of new ESPN Bet features this fall during football season should meaningfully improve its product, Jonas said, and a focus on costs indicate the company’s commitment to seeing its investment yield results.
Penn shares have plummeted 25% year to date. It has missed earnings expectations the last two quarters and lowered guidance.
“Investors continue to wonder what an ESPN Bet success could look like, and how much more investment (beyond what’s guided) it’ll take to reach,” Jonas notes.
Industry News
Stevin ‘Hedake’ Smith to Promote Gambling Harm Awareness Through EPIC
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Stevin ‘Hedake’ Smith was at the center of one of the most high-profile examples of gambling-related harm in basketball history, which makes him the perfect latest addition to EPIC Global Solutions’ team as they continue to educate the current generation of professional and collegiate athletes on how to avoid the repeat of a similar scenario.
The former point guard made his name as a star player at Arizona State University in the early 1990s, setting college records for three-point attempts and being a two-time All-Pac-10 selection. However, his involvement in point-shaving – which was the subject of a 2021 Netflix documentary – led to a one-year prison sentence and impacted an NBA career with hometown team, Dallas Mavericks.
The source of his gambling harm – being approached by a gambler to change the final score of a game without changing who wins – is an issue that remains very pertinent to student-athletes 30 years on, in spite of the significant changes to sports wagering legislation.
This ensures that his planned involvement in EPIC’s range of education sessions to teams connected to partners such as the NCAA, MLB, and MLSPA will be an important lesson for the athletes, coaches, and staff in attendance when he travels to address them in his new role as US sports advisor for the company.
“I’m passionate about wanting to tell my story and get out there to prevent this from happening again,” he explained.
“I’ve been able to tell my story to players previously and I’m able to have a relationship with all of them in the audience because of the way I deliver my message and coming from one big fraternity in sport. Knowing that EPIC has a global reach is something that really stood out to me about this opportunity and I’m passionate about getting out there and speaking about my experience.”
Though already a renowned name in sporting circles, Smith’s profile is set to rise again in the months ahead with the release of eponymous autobiography, ‘Hedake’, which will coincide with his work with EPIC.
“We’re proud to welcome Hedake to our team and can’t wait to see the impact he’ll have on audiences,” added Teresa Fiore, EPIC’s VP of partnerships.
“In being approached to shave points on game, Hedake has experienced a type of gambling-related harm which is different to many of our other team members. His story represents an area of increasing concern within sports, which adds to the range of our education designed to benefit our valued partners and the key people in their organisations.”
Industry News
Public Health Advocacy Institute (PHAI) Calls for Overhaul of “Responsible Gambling” Model
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As the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) gathered for their annual conference in San Diego last week, the Public Health Advocacy Institute (PHAI)—a nonprofit research center for public health laws affiliated with Northeastern University School of Law— released a new video to highlight the ethical and scientific failure of the “Responsible Gambling” model.
Under the direction of its president, Professor Richard Daynard, Executive Director Mark Gottlieb, and Director of Gambling Policy Dr. Harry Levant, PHAI is leading the efforts to replace the Responsible Gambling model with a comprehensive public health response to the unprecedented expansion of the gambling industry and online gambling. PHAI will be advocating for and advancing much-needed public health reform and regulation at both the federal and state levels.
The new video, which can be found on the PHAI website here, analyzes key flaws in the Responsible Gambling model—an approach favored by both the gambling industry, and the gambling-industry-funded NCPG.
In the video, Dr. Levant highlights the situation’s urgency, stating “The expansion of online gambling without appropriate safeguards and regulation is an industry-driven ‘wild west’ environment, resulting in a looming public health crisis.”
President Daynard echoed this statement by criticizing the current Responsible Gambling model: “The Responsible Gambling model puts the onus on the customer, rather than focusing on the irresponsible design and marketing decisions of the gambling industry.”
Professor Gottlieb also emphasized the need for change. “The time has come to expose the failures of the Responsible Gambling model and move forward with a public health approach to regulation and reform,” he said.
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