Rivers Casino Philadelphia, formerly SugarHouse Casino, is a

casino A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...

entertainment development along the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for a ...

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

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

History

SugarHouse Casino was awarded a gaming license on December 20, 2006 by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, 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 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 (HHS), and is headquartered in Atlanta, ...

. 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, fruit machine (British English), poker machine or pokie (Australian English and New Zealand English) is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers. A slot machine's standard layout features a screen disp ...

, 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 had the right to lease the land where the casino was to be located. The city's Mayor Michael 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, 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 (also known as iGaming or iGambling) 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 th ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

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. Sports bettors place their wagers either legally, through a sportsbook or bookmaker (colloquially known as "bookies"), or illegally through priva ...

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

sportsbook A sportsbook is a venue where a gambler can wager on various sports competitions, such as golf, football, basketball, baseball, ice hockey, soccer, horse racing, greyhound racing, boxing, and mixed martial arts. The method of betting varies wit ...

. On May 28, 2019, SugarHouse Casino became the first casino in Pennsylvania to offer online sports betting within the state. The permanent $5 million, BetRivers Sportsbook opened in October, 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. Later 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 brand name became official on October 29. 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' ...

Rita's Italian Ice Rita's Franchise Company, LLC, doing business as Rita's Italian Ice (originally and now informally known as Rita's Water Ice), is a privately owned and operated American quick service restaurant chain originating in the Philadelphia metropoli ...

*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 The G, formerly known as the Route 15 Trolley, is a streetcar line in the SEPTA Metro network that runs along Girard Avenue through North and West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Service is operated by the City Transit Division of the Southeaster ...

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 ...

routes and at the

Frankford and Delaware Avenue station Frankford may refer to: * Frankford, Tasmania, Australia * Frankford, Ontario, Canada United States * Frankford, Delaware * Frankford, Baltimore, Maryland * Frankford Township, Mower County, Minnesota ** Frankford Village, Minnesota, a ghost to ...

References

External links