From Steel to Slot Machines

On a land where steel was forged and coke ovens ran 24/7 – a different kind of steel will sit which will also run 24/7 – a slot machine casino is coming to Bethlehem. The mile long Bethlehem Steel Corporation has been closed for almost 10 years, and now the slot machines are looking to bring it back to life.

It will take roughly two years for the slot machine casino to take the place of the old steel mills, and the Sands is responsible for it. Sands BethWorks Gaming will be bringing in the slot machine casino – and it will be part of the Las Vegas Sands casino family. They plan on spending well over a half a billon to develop the property – which when finished will have a mall, a hotel, and of course the slot machine casino. It will hold 3,000 slot machines.

The slot machine casino will take the place of an ore field, the blast furnaces will be lit up, and other major landmarks will be stabilized. There will be a lot of new construction to clean up the area for the slot machine casino, but the older buildings and architecture will be preserved and blended in with the new. The company wanted it to have an older feel, more like an actual industrial site instead of something new and shiny.

The Sands got the land for $4 million for their slot machine casino, and they acknowledge that they got a bargain. They bought it from Wilbur Ross, who bought the company three years ago. He was planning on making it a retail and entertainment site, so had already cleaned much of it up. The city had pitched in putting more than $10 million into improvements of the streets, utilities, etc.

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