Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia to hold grand opening on Feb. 11

he Cordish Companies' Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia on Wednesday announced it will open its doors in the Stadium District on January 19 with a series of reservation-only preview days for Live! Rewards Club members. The official grand opening to the general public will follow on February 11, pending approval from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. 

Existing Live! Rewards Club members are now able to make reservations for the preview days to be held January 19-February 11 at LivePhillyRSVP.com. After February 11 at 8:00 p.m., reservations will no longer be required for any guests. In addition, guests can book reservations at the luxury Live! Hotel as of Wednesday.

“We are beyond excited to go Live! in Philadelphia and bring this world-class gaming and entertainment destination to the heart of the Stadium District,” said Joe Billhimer, Executive Vice President, Cordish Gaming Group. “What we have created here is unrivaled anywhere in the country. Sports fans, foodies, gaming enthusiasts, and anyone looking for a night of fun and excitement only has to make one stop to experience it all.” 

The 510,000 square-foot property features more than 2,100 slots and electronic table games; 150 live-action table games; a 29-table poker room; a 12-story, 208-room Live! Hotel; a variety of dining and entertainment options; a six-room event center featuring 15,000-square-feet of customizable meeting space to accommodate groups of 12 to 1,000 guests; access to parking with an attached multi-level structured parking facility and adjacent surface parking.

Sports & Social Philly is a sports restaurant, gaming venue and social lounge that will feature a FanDuel Sportsbook and Lounge retail location and state-of-the-art AV system, including a giant 52-foot LED display and 24 televisions for sports viewing. Other dining options include The Prime Rib, Luk Fu, 10th Street Market, Center Bar, R Bar, Guy’s Burger Joint, Guy Fieri’s Taco Joint, Morty’s Deli, Luckie’s Liquor.

Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia will generate over $2 billion in economic stimulus to the city, along with $100 million in tax revenues for the city in its first five years of operation, including $25 million to Philadelphia’s School District.  

The facility has provided over 5,000 new construction jobs and is now hiring to fill up to 2,000 permanent new positions for area residents. Hiring preference will be given to residents living in the communities immediately surrounding the Stadium District, then the surrounding region. In addition, Live! Philadelphia will host two invitation-only charity nights on January 16-17, 2021 with all proceeds donated to Philadelphia area non-profit organizations.

To prepare for opening, Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia has developed a comprehensive Play It Safe plan, which is an enhanced health and sanitation program that allows for increased cleaning frequency, physical distancing, reduced occupancies, new technology and vigorous hygiene and health measures. Signage will be located throughout the facility to underscore all health and safety requirements. 

Key components of the "Play It Safe" plan include the installation of Atmos Air Bi-Polar Air Purification System within the HVAC system to treat and clean the air in the facility, including any virus particulates. The system is designed to perform 12 air changes per hour throughout the casino floor, which is more than twice the frequency of most commercial buildings. 

In addition, the Reel Clear slot management system will guarantee every customer who plays a slot machine is sitting down at a freshly sanitized machine and also has the capability to automatically social distance the customer from the nearest guest. The newly-developed system can automatically shut down a slot after it has been played and can only be reactivated by an attendant after it has been sanitized. Also, once a player starts to play a newly sanitized machine, the system will lock down the machines on either side to enforce social distancing in areas not protected by plexiglass barriers. The system will also allow a patron to request their machine to be cleaned at any time. 

“Our top priority is to provide a safe environment for our team members and guests,” Billhimer said. “We’ve gone through extraordinary measures to meet and exceed Pennsylvania’s COVID-19 guidelines to ensure all of our guests have fun and feel safe.”