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Plans for Holiday Inn Casino Conversion Underway – with RVs?

Posted on August 15th, 2010

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In Pennsylvania, an ingenious plan for a cassino has been made. A group is planning to convert a usual Holiday Inn into a resort casino at around $75 million. Nothing out of the ordinary, one might say, but this casino is to be offered initially to a unique niche market – owners of Rvs. The main company behind thise plan, Penn Harris Gaming, is formulating this marketing strategy for what they term as an “underserved population.” This market segment includes a more senior population who has a lot of disposable money and is in search of new sites to see around the country with the use of their RVs.

The casino is to be located in the areas of Harrisburg/Hershey/Carlisle/Lancaste, although not a lot of speculators agree with the choice of locale. The area, according to Penn Harris is the type of location a lot of “Rvers” prefer to go to. Having a casino there would enable them to not just see the scenic and historic spots, but also play their favorite casino games. Another crowd drawer in the areas of Hershey and Carlisle are the car shows held every year. These car shows are reputed to attract car enthusiasts who may want to try their luck at casino gaming. Also in the area are traditional farms of the Amish people in Lancaster and the Hershey Park in Hershey, which houses the factory of the world-famous chocolate brand.

The Holiday Inn located west of Harrisburg on Route 11 is owned by real estate and equity company CMS, who is also included in the plan as developers. The conversion of the hotel would include a casino to measure 40,000 square feet, enough to house table games, 600 slots, a bar and restaurant, a fitness center and spa and a parking lot for Rvs. This 6 acre area will be located adjacent to Interstate 81, behind the Holiday Inn which will be the most convenient place for drivers to park their RVs while enjoying some casino games. The place will be called RV world. One of the plan’s investors, John Donnelly, a gaming lawyer based in Atlantic City said that the high-roller market is not really their focus. The middle-class market is their target, as it has what he terms as considerable “discretionary income.” The Pennsylvania venture will be Donnelly’s first foray into investing in casinos, despite doing legal work for the industry for as long as 30 years already.

As the Holiday Inn only has 239 rooms, an additional 36 rooms are needed by the facility to be considered under state law as a resort casino hotel. The additional rooms will be provided by 36 new RVs that Holiday Inn will be renting out to customers at lower rates compared to the regular rooms in the hotel. The proposed Pennsylvania facility is not really the first one to target the RV market, though, as established casinos such as Circus Circus and Samstown have already been doing this since their operation. Companies supporting this plan still see the area’s casino market as still unsaturated. As of the moment, there is only the Hollywood Casino located in the Penn National racetrack. This casino has close to 3,000 slots and some table games, and it is located 20 miles northeast of Harrisburg. Backers of the Holiday Inn plan also note that the location of the hotel, which is close to the I-81, I-83 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike, makes it a magnet for gaming-hungry travelers.

The project still has to undergo a number of stages, such as acquiring licenses from Pennsylvania’s Gaming Control Board. Currently, three other gaming plans are also seeking gaming licenses, which includes the controversial Mason-Dixon Resort & Casino, Fayette County’s Woodlands resort and a yet-to-be-named resort hotel in the Poconos. The first resort is subject to criticism from Civil War fanatics as the site is very close to the Gettysburg National Military Park. Meanwhile if approved, the Poconos facility may put up a very stiff competition with the Holiday In n project due to the two projects’ location proximity. If all goes well, hearings with the state’s gaming board will commence September and a license should be awarded before the year ends.