The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board on Thursday unanimously approved changes to The Meadows casino development in Washington County, eliminating a planned hotel in favor of a parking garage and a larger slots parlor. “This is a reaction to the marketplace. We’re involved in an intense competitive situation with two West Virginia casinos only minutes away,” said spokesman David La Torre. “There are plenty of hotel spaces in the Washington County area. What we need are more parking spaces.” The revisions do not change the cost or size of the $155 million, 350,000-square-foot facility scheduled for completion next spring, he said. Instead of a hotel and spa, the new plan calls for a 1,050-space parking garage, a small bowling alley and an additional 30,000 square feet of casino space. That would allow room for 4,200 slot machines instead of the previously planned 3,000 and leaves room for table games if the state permits them in the future, Meadows officials said. The control board was satisfied the changes would generate the most revenue for the state and the business, so it approved The Meadows request 6-0, said spokesman Doug Harbach. Casinos combined with racetracks, like The Meadows, tend to draw more daily customers than those who stay overnight, he said. While stand-alone casinos, like the Majestic Star Casino scheduled to open next spring in the North Shore, also depend on one-day customer traffic, they tend to be destination attractions, drawing more overnight visitors than the combined racetrack and casino developments. In June, The Meadows opened a temporary casino with 1,816 slots, a restaurant and sports bar. The Meadows will plan the second phase of its development after next year’s opening, and that might include a hotel, La Torre said. Two hotels with about 250 rooms are down the hill from the casino. The area has 750 more rooms, with three more hotels planned for the nearby Southpointe area, Meadows officials said. La Torre said The Meadows measures performance daily, checking customer counts, the performance of each slot machine and information from Players Club cards. That lets The Meadows know how long gamblers stayed and where they live, he said. “The bottom line is we’re trying to keep Pennsylvania dollars in Pennsylvania, and we’re trying to attract people from other states,” La Torre said.

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