Partners Isle of Capri and the Hardy family last month opened Pennsylvania’s 12th casino, the Lady Luck Casino at Nemacolin Woodlands.
The casino is Pennsylvania’s second Category 3 casino, a classification of casinos that are attached to year-round resort hotel properties. These properties are limited to 600 slot machines and 50 table games, and guests are required to spend money in the resort for access to the casino. At Lady Luck Nemacolin, guests must make a $10 purchase at the property or buy a $10 gift card to enter the casino. Another alternative is to buy an annual membership for $45.
Nemacolin Woodlands, located around 70 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, was already a popular year-round mountain resort destination. Isle of Capri renovated and retrofitted an existing building on the grounds to create the casino—a fact that allowed it to open within a year after receiving the license, at a comparatively small cost of $60 million. The casino opened with 600 slots and 28 table games.
Isle of Capri designed and is managing the casino. Part of the construction was the addition of the Isle-themed Otis and Henry’s Restaurant, complete with a giant wrought-iron fireplace.
The building is styled along the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright. “This is an architecture that we hope salutes Frank Lloyd Wright, as everyone knows he has his amazing home Falling Water very close by,” said Rich Laudon, vice president and general manager of the casino.
Hundreds of customers waited outside for a noon grand opening celebration on July 1, during which Isle of Capri CEO Virginia McDowell joined resort officials to cut the ribbon on the new casino. More than 1,000 patrons visited during the first four and a half hours.
Nemacolin Woodlands also features an upscale 335-room hotel, two championship golf courses, restaurants, a spa and private homes on more than 2,000 total acres. It has earned the Forbes Travel Guide Four-Star rating and the AAA Four Diamond rating, and has been honored as one of Travel + Leisure magazine’s 500 Best Hotels in the World. Established restaurants at the resort include Lautrec, which itself has earned the AAA Five-Diamond and Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star rating.
