Rivers Casino Philadelphia, formerly SugarHouse Casino, is a

casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

entertainment development along the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of N ...

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

's Fishtown neighborhood, one of five stand-alone casinos awarded a gaming license on December 20, 2006 by the

Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board is a governmental agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, founded in 2004 as the state licensing and the regulatory agency responsible for overseeing slot machines and casino gambling in the state. The ...

History

SugarHouse Casino was awarded a gaming license on December 20, 2006 by the

, along with four others. Many neighborhood residents sought to prevent the development of the casino due to quality of life issues. Residents of the Fishtown neighborhood have taken the lead in the creation and leadership of the prominent anti-casino organizations, including Casino Free Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Neighborhood Alliance, and Neighbors Allied for the Best Riverfront. On the other side, Fishtown Action (FACT), the largest membership organization in the nearby community with over 600 members, has continuously supported the casino project. This support is largely in part because of a

community benefits agreement A community benefits agreement (CBA) in the United States is a contract signed by community groups and a real estate developer that requires the developer to provide specific amenities and/or mitigations to the local community or neighborhood. In e ...

along with the New Kensington

CDC The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency, under the Department of Health and Human Services, and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgi ...

. The casino complex is located on the site of the former Jack Frost Sugar Refinery, hence the "SugarHouse" name; and on a site where a British Revolutionary Era fort was once located. Phase I, estimated at $550 million, includes a casino floor with 3,000

slot machines A slot machine (American English), fruit machine (British English) or poker machine (Australian English and New Zealand English) is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers. Slot machines are also known pejoratively as ...

, and tables, along with a variety of retail and dining outlets. Future phases of the project include a 500-room hotel with health spa, a event center, and expanded dining and retail facilities. It was estimated that SugarHouse Casino would generate in excess of $1 billion in gaming taxes to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the City of Philadelphia over the first five years of operation. On April 15, 2008, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court convened in Philadelphia to determine if the City of Philadelphia had the right to lease the land where the casino was to be located. The city's Mayor Nutter revoked the SugarHouse license in January, and the city's lawyers claimed the city never had the authority to issue the license in the first place. The owners of SugarHouse Casino argued that the city could not legally revoke a license to build on the riverbank. On August 22, 2008 the Supreme Court ruled that the permits were legal. Groundbreaking on the project began on October 9, 2009, The casino opened on September 23, 2010. On July 22, 2014, SugarHouse casino broke ground on a project to expand the casino floor, add restaurants, add a parking garage, and bring more amenities to the riverfront. The expansion opened on May 9, 2016. SugarHouse began offering

online gambling Online gambling is any kind of gambling conducted on the internet. This includes virtual poker, casinos and sports betting. The first online gambling venue opened to the general public was ticketing for the Liechtenstein International Lottery in ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

in 2016. In fall 2018, SugarHouse added online

sports betting Sports betting is the activity of predicting sports results and placing a wager on the outcome. The frequency of sports bet upon varies by culture, with the vast majority of bets being placed on association football, American football, basket ...

in New Jersey. On December 13, 2018, sports betting began at SugarHouse Casino with a two-day test period; official sports betting began on December 15, 2018. SugarHouse became the first casino in the Philadelphia area to offer sports betting. The casino initially operated out of a temporary

sportsbook In the United States, a sportsbook or a race and sports book (sometimes abbreviated as book) is a place where a gambler can wager on various sports competitions, including golf, football, basketball, baseball, ice hockey, soccer, horse racing, ...

. On May 28, 2019, SugarHouse Casino became the first casino in Pennsylvania to offer online sports betting within the state of Pennsylvania. The permanent $5 million, BetRivers Sportsbook opened in October 2019, consisting of a large HD video wall that can broadcast multiple games, six betting windows, and 22 self-serve betting kiosks. The casino offers betting on multiple sports including football, basketball, hockey, boxing, and soccer. In 2019, SugarHouse's parent company, Rush Street Gaming, announced that the casino would be rebranded as Rivers Casino Philadelphia, matching the name used by Rush Street's other properties, including Rivers Casino Pittsburgh. The new name became official on October 29, 2019. On July 17, 2019, SugarHouse conducted a soft launch for online gambling in Pennsylvania; the testing period lasted two days. Online gambling offered by SugarHouse consists of slot machines and table games, with online poker to launch at a later date.

Dining

Rivers Casino offers the following dining options: *

Geno's Steaks Geno's Steaks is a Philadelphia restaurant specializing in cheesesteaks, founded in 1966 by Joey Vento. Geno's is located in South Philadelphia at the intersection of 9th Street and Passyunk Avenue, directly across the street from rival Pat's Kin ...

Rita's Italian Ice Rita's Franchise Company, LLC, doing business as Rita's Italian Ice (informally known as "Rita's Water Ice"), is a privately owned and operated American quick service restaurant chain that operates primarily in the Mid-Atlantic United States. T ...

*Coffee Spot *Mian *Jack's Bar & Grill *Martorano's Prime

Entertainment

The Event Center at Rivers Casino is home to concerts and entertainment performances. Live music is also available at Jack's Bar & Grill.

Transportation

The Rivers Casino is served by the

SEPTA Route 15 Route 15, the Girard Avenue Line, is a trolley line operated by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) along Girard Avenue through North and West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. , it is the only surface trolley li ...

trolley and the

SEPTA City Bus The City Transit Division of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) operate almost all of Philadelphia's public transit, including all six trolley, three trackless trolley, and 70 bus lines within city limits. Some of th ...

routes and at the

Frankford and Delaware Avenue station Frankford and Delaware Avenue station, also known as the Northern Liberties Loop, is a SEPTA Route 15 trolley station in Philadelphia, United States, located in the Port Richmond neighborhood. The station serves the area surrounding Rivers Casi ...

References

External links