The Rivers Casino (originally going to be named the Majestic Star 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 enterta ...

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. It is owned by Holdings Acquisition Co. L.P., a joint venture of Walton Street Capital LLC and High Pitt Gaming LP. Located in Pittsburgh's Chateau neighborhood along the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of ...

, adjacent to the

Carnegie Science Center The Carnegie Science Center is one of the four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is located in the Chateau neighborhood. It is located across the street from Heinz Field. Overview The Carnegie Science Center is the most visited mu ...

and nearby Heinz Field and

PNC Park PNC Park is a baseball stadium on the North Shore of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is the fifth home of the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB). It was opened during the 2001 MLB season, after the controlled implosion of the Pira ...

, it had its groundbreaking in December 2007 and opened on August 9, 2009. The casino was originally to be built by

Don H. Barden Don Hamilton Barden (December 20, 1943 – May 19, 2011) was an American casino executive. Barden was the manager, chairman, president and chief executive officer of The Majestic Star Casino, LLC, from its formation, with responsibility for key ...

, but financial troubles forced him to sell 75% of his interest in the casino to Holdings Acquisition Co on July 16, 2008. The casino has 3,000 slot machines.

History

Application process

The "Pennsylvania Race Horse Development and Gaming Act" authorized 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 ...

to issue up to 17 casino licenses, with at least 1 casino license reserved for the City of Pittsburgh. Four organizations entered the proposal process to win the Pittsburgh casino license: North Shore Gaming, LP, Isle of Capri Casinos, Inc., Station Square Gaming, LP, and PITG Gaming, LLC.

Mayor

Luke Ravenstahl Luke Robert Ravenstahl (born February 6, 1980) is an American politician who served as the 59th Mayor of Pittsburgh from 2006 until 2014. A Democrat, he became the youngest mayor in Pittsburgh's history in September 2006 at the age of 26. He wa ...

and other local officials favored a deal from the Isle of Capri Casinos, Inc., which proposed to give the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

$290 million to build a new arena in exchange for receiving the casino license. In a "Plan B" negotiated by local political leaders, both the Majestic Star and Forest City agreed to pay $7.5 million a year for 30 years toward the construction of the new hockey arena. The Station Square proposal was backed by major casino players, including

Harrah's Entertainment Harrah's Entertainment (later named Caesars Entertainment Corporation, previously The Promus Companies) was an American casino and hotel company founded in Reno, Nevada, and based in Paradise, Nevada, that operated over 50 properties and seven ...

and Forest City Enterprises. In 2005, then-Mayor Tom Murphy controversially said during a press luncheon that "the fix is in" for Forest City's proposal. The proposed plan suffered from questions about increases in traffic in the already-developed Station Square location. The proposal from PITG Gaming, LLC, a holding company owned by Don Barden's

The Majestic Star Casino, LLC The Majestic Star Casino, LLC was a gaming holding company founded in Gary, Indiana by Don H. Barden and was based in Las Vegas, Nevada. History The company was formed on December 8, 1993. It opened the Majestic Star Casino in Gary, Indiana on ...

, was awarded one of five available "Category 2" slots licenses by the

on December 20, 2006. Barden's proposal was generally considered a "long-shot" for much of the application process because, unlike the competition, it lacked a large rewards program for gamblers and did not offer to pay for a replacement for the aging

Mellon Arena The Civic Arena, formerly the Civic Auditorium and later Mellon Arena, was an arena located in Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Civic Arena primarily served as the home to the Pittsburgh Penguins, the city's National Hockey League (NHL) ...

. Local community groups expressed concern over its proposed North Side location, home to

and Heinz Field and the increase in traffic congestion. Barden and PITG Gaming, LLC, were awarded the casino license in December 2006. Several lawsuits were filed by the losing applicants challenging the Gaming Board's decision, but they were not successful. Early construction delays were blamed on the suits.

Construction

Ground was broken on the casino's North Shore in December 2007. In July 2008, Barden defaulted on a $200 million bridge loan and failed to pay contractors, halting construction. On July 16, 2008, he sold 75% of his interest to Holdings Acquisition Co, a joint venture of Walton Street Capital LLC and High Pitt Gaming LP and led by

Neil Bluhm Neil Gary Bluhm (born 1938) is an American billionaire real estate and casino magnate. He is a partner of Midwest Gaming & Entertainment, which owns several casinos. He had an estimated net worth of US$7 billion in October 2021. Early life Bluhm ...

. The ownership changes were approved by the Gaming Board on August 14, 2008, and construction on the casino restarted. In November 2008, the new owners changed the casino's name to "Rivers Casino" to reflect its location near the confluence of the Allegheny, Monongahela and

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

rivers.

Grand opening

The Rivers Casino opened as scheduled at noon on August 9, 2009.

Taxes

The Rivers Casino is reported to be worth $199.5 million to Allegheny County at least for taxing purposes. That's the assessed value the county has placed on the North Shore riverfront venue for the 2010 tax year. The value was calculated based on construction costs of the casino and surrounding parcels. The $199.5 million assessed value is the largest on any commercial property in Allegheny County and the largest on any casino in Pennsylvania. (According to Allegheny County real estate records, 600 Grant St. 15219 (the tallest building in Pittsburgh), is valued at $175 Million). Barring an appeal, it will produce $935,655 in property tax revenue for the county, $2.77 million for city schools, and $2.15 million for the city. The casino, the school district and the city all have the right to appeal the value if they so choose.

Management

In January 2018 it was announced that long running General Manager, Craig Clark, would be succeeded by Bill Keena. Keena was previously the General Manager of the Rivers Casino (Des Plaines) and has been in the casino industry for over 30 years. Recently, it inked a deal with BetRivers.com

Dining & entertainment

Rivers Casino has five restaurants: Grand View Buffet (closed since March 2020 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

), Ciao, Flipt Burgers & Shakes, Martorano's Prime, and Mian. It also has three bars: Spiral Bar, Drum Bar and Wheelhouse. In the fall of 2009, the casino opened a coat room, open till 6pm Sunday through Thursday and until 2 am closing time on Fridays and Saturdays. The casino also has a night club and a 1,000 seat outdoor

amphitheater An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...

Rewards club

Rivers Casino offers a rewards club, the Rush Rewards Players Club. It has various rewards based on play level. Some rewards include: free slot play, free monthly gifts, and free/discounted food offers.

Table games

Table games opened to the general public in July 2010. As table games have succeeded financially, management officials announced plans in January 2011 to add several additional table games: by Spring 2011 Rivers Casino will have a total of 107 games. The Casino is also in the process of adding a $2 million ballroom in a massive corner space on the second floor, with views of the riverfront and Downtown skyline. It is expected to be ready by late summer 2011. As of 2018, Rivers Casino includes a 30-table non-smoking poker room.

Sports betting

On December 13, 2018,

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 ...

began at Rivers Casino with a two-day test period; official sports betting began on December 15, 2018. Rivers Casino began online sports betting on June 25, 2019. On September 29, 2019, Rivers Casino opened the permanent BetRivers Sportsbook, which contains two LED monitors, 24 flat-screen HD monitors, six betting windows, and 33 self-serve kiosks. Rivers Casino offers sports betting on various sports including baseball, football, basketball, hockey, and boxing.

Banned players

Rivers Casino abides by Pennsylvania State Law that allows any patron of the casino to put themselves on a "Do Not Play" list. If a patron on the list enters the casino, they can be prosecuted for trespassing.

References

External links

Original Majestic Star Casino design by STRADA, LLCCity of Pittsburgh's Traffic Report for Majectic Star CasinoPA Gaming Control Board's Order Granting PITG's applicationPA Gaming Control Board's Final Adjudication on challenges to PITG's application
{{Pennsylvania casinos Commercial buildings in Pittsburgh Casinos in Pennsylvania Tourist attractions in Pittsburgh Casinos completed in 2009 2009 establishments in Pennsylvania