Mt. Airy Casino Breaks Ground

Mount Airy Resort & Casino officially broke ground today on a $360 million gaming and resort complex in the heart of the Poconos.

"Today is a great day for Mount Airy. It is a great day for the Poconos, and it is a great day for the state of Pennsylvania," said Louis A. DeNaples, the northeastern Pennsylvania businessman who owns Mount Airy. "This project will create thousands of jobs, generate millions of dollars in tax revenues and enhance a major tourism center.

"It will complement - not compete with - existing Pocono attractions," DeNaples continued. "And it will be another great reason to visit the Poconos."

Phase I of the project calls for the construction of a 200-room luxury resort hotel, a gaming and entertainment complex that would house 3,000 slot machines, four restaurants, two live entertainment lounges, an 18-hole championship golf course, an indoor pool, spa, retail shops, and a covered parking facility.

Phase I construction is estimated at $300 million, which would be followed in Phase II with an expanded casino to accommodate a total of 5,000 slot machines, an additional 200 luxury hotel rooms, and additional conference, entertainment and parking facilities. The plan also preserves nearly 550 acres of green space at the 891-acre site.

DeNaples was joined for the groundbreaking by dozens of supporters, including local officials and representatives of the business and tourism community.

"Mount Airy is sure to foster economic prosperity throughout the entire Pocono region," said Robert Phillips, President and CEO of the Pocono Mountains Chamber of Commerce. "By boosting existing businesses and attracting new companies, this project will be a driving force in the revitalization of the Poconos."

"Mount Airy will help enhance the tourism industry here in the Pocono Mountains," said Robert Uguccioni of the Pocono Mountains Vacation Bureau, Inc., the official destination marketing organization for the four counties of Carbon, Monroe, Pike and Wayne in northeastern Pennsylvania.

The new Mount Airy Resort & Casino will be located on the site of the former Mt. Airy Lodge, which was known nationwide for half a century as the "host with the most in the Poconos."

The Lodge drew visitors from around the world and was an economic engine for the entire region, and particularly for the local community, which relied on the facility as a source of jobs, business opportunity and as a magnet to draw visitors to other Pocono attractions. The Lodge fell on hard times and closed its doors permanently in 1999.

The new Mount Airy is expected to open in the Fall of 2007 after the first phase of construction is completed.

The resort will be run by a world-class team of gaming industry executives led by Paul Henderson, the former President and Chief Operating Officer of Caesars Atlantic City, the Atlantic City Hilton, and Trump Marina Hotel and Casino. The operations team has worked at more than 50 casinos and gaming companies worldwide, and has an extensive background in the developmen

2006-07-18