Philadelphia’s Live! Casino & Hotel in the city’s Stadium District is celebrating its official one-year anniversary with the announcement of pumping over $325 million into the local and state economies. As part of the festivities, the City of Philadelphia declared February 11 as Live! Day.
Local officials, business leaders, tourism, and communities leaders from throughout the region joined media and Cordish Company executives in the celebrations that featured a giant 4-tiered cake made by local craftsmen Termini Brothers Bakery, a Philidelphia favorite.
The South Philadelphia String Band and former Philadelphia Eagles star, Jon Dorenbos made appearances at the gala event.
The road to opening the world-class gaming, hotel, dining, and entertainment center was sometimes arduous and observers were at times unsure if all the wrinkles could be ironed out in order to satisfy stakeholders, city overseers, and the community at large, but the task was finally accomplished in 2021.
“We’re so proud of the positive impact that we’ve made on our local communities during our first year in business and thank the City of Philadelphia for their kind recognition,” said David Cordish, Chairman, The Cordish Companies. “We kept our promise to create a world-class destination, which has also proven to be an economic driver for the Greater Philadelphia region.”
$700 Million Investment
The company put as much as $700m at risk to realize the opening a year ago and nearly half that amount has made its way into the local, regional, and state economy in the first year of operations. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has seen more than $90 million in tax receipts alone from the entertainment and gambling complex.
Live! Has spent some $100m with local, minority-owned, and women-owned businesses and created 1,300 new permanent jobs. Well over half of the team members live in the city. Wages accounted for nearly $60m of the company’s economic input from the development.
Over the last year, players have collected over $80m in jackpot payouts.
Cash donations and in-kind support like the 500 hours of community service team members volunteered represented the company giving back almost half a million dollars across the Greater Philadelphia region with well over a dozen local charities the recipients of human hands of help and much-needed cash.
“As a family-owned company, we consider the community to be extended members of the Live! family. We’re proud to be able to provide jobs and support local businesses, in addition to contribute directly to the organizations helping to better the lives of those around us,” said Joe Billhimer, Executive Vice President, Cordish Gaming Group. “We look forward to continuing this support during year two, and beyond.”
Property Details
The casino resort is located off I-95 and I-76, in direct proximity to four professional sports teams. It’s no wonder the FanDuel® Sportsbook and Lounge, Sports & Social Philly, as well as nightlife at Center Bar and R Bar, are so popular.
The casino features over 150 dealer-staffed table games along with over 2,100 electronic tables and slot machines as well as a dedicated poker room. The hotel offers over 200 luxury rooms.
The Cordish Companies is a family business that still owns and operates virtually every venue it ever opened. Across the company’s hotel and sports-anchored properties, more than 55 million people visit each year.
Source: THE CORDISH COMPANIES CELEBRATES FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF LIVE! CASINO & HOTEL PHILADELPHIA; CONTRIBUTES MORE THAN $325 MILLION TO LOCAL AND STATE ECONOMY, PR Newswire, February 10, 2022