Parx Casino in Bensalem may have more competition than it did in its early days, but this hasn’t slowed it down. Its market share has been steady over the years. This is despite having to close during the Covid-19 pandemic and even though it decided to go smoke-free after that.
Early beginnings
Parx Casino is situated in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, and is owned and operated by Greenwood Gaming and Entertainment. The property was originally known as the Keystone Racetrack and was renamed Parx Casino and Racing in 2010.
In 2006, the racetrack received a slots license from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB), and construction on the casino was able to start. The casino opened in December 2009 with 3,300 slot machines. Since then, Parx Casino PA has introduced online gaming and become a top retail slots destination.
Years 2018 and 2019
At this time, Pennsylvania had a total of 12 brick-and-mortar casinos. Online casino and sports betting apps only started to appear in the summer of 2019. In these years, Parx was the top casino in slot revenue. It reached almost $417 million, which was a 17.5% share of slot revenue in Pennsylvania.
In 2018, Parx opened its Xcite Center with seating for over 1,500 people. It was now able to offer people live entertainment in addition to gambling.
The Covid-19 pandemic
In 2020, all the casinos in the state close from March until early June due to the pandemic. Parx Casino was closed for over 100 days of the fiscal year. At that time, growth in the digital sphere really took off. More online casinos were opened, providing extra tax revenue for the state. Parx was still tops for retail slot revenue: It brought in over $300 million, which was a 17.7% market share.
Close competition
In February 2021, Live! Casino Philadelphia opened only 22 miles away from Parx. However, Parx was still the leader in slot revenue, bringing in over $373 million in the 2020-2021 fiscal year.
Years 2021 to 2022
In 2021 and 2022, the total number of casinos in PA reached 16. The first mini-casinos were opened, and one of these, Hollywood Casino Morgantown, was an hour away from Parx. Of all 16 casinos, Parx was still in the top spot for retail slot revenue. It brought in nearly $408 million in that fiscal year, which was about 17% of the market share.
The June 2022 figures showed that Parx had 16.4% of the slot revenue share, although it brought in $31.7 million in slot revenue for the month. Chief Marketing Officer Marc Oppenheimer said the drop wasn’t a result of losing visitation. It was due to spending-per-trip going down, especially in certain sectors. He said the casino wasn’t losing people to competitors or other forms of entertainment, but they just didn’t have the discretionary income to spend.
Years 2023 to 2025
In 2023, Insider Monkey ranked Parx Casino as the eighth-most profitable casino in the world. In its study, it took into account the profitability of the casino’s parent company. The American Gaming Association (AGA) also named Parx Casino as one of its top 20 commercial casinos outside Nevada.
Parx dominated the market in May 2023 with slot revenue of almost $34 million. The Parx Shippensburg mini-casino generated $2.6 million in slot revenue in May.
Parx had plans to build its own hotel but decided to buy and transform the former Inn at Fox Chase. It will reopen as the rebranded Parxview Hotel in late 2025 and offer an upscale, modern hotel experience for guests. The top floor will have 16 new suites. Domestic travelers in the US will be happy that they can play slots and stay at the hotel. Parx received both national and global recognition without even having a hotel. This addition will add a whole new level to what retail slot players can experience at Parx in the future.
