Las Vegas Sands opens Bethlehem, Pa., casino

By Mark Hansel

Saturday, May 23, 2009 | 10:59 p.m.

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Las Vegas Sands Corp. opened its first East Coast Casino to large crowds, with high hopes that the unique site would help revitalize both the casino company and this Eastern Pennsylvania region.

The drive into Sands Bethlehem from the west is a quick tutorial into how Bethlehem, Pa., has evolved since the steel plant the casino now sits on opened more than 140 years ago and closed in 1995.

A winding road takes visitors past a sprawling complex of large, vacant buildings that once housed the operations for the 124-acre Bethlehem Steel plant.

As the road winds around past the last few lots filled with cars that seem out of place among so many vacant structures, another building comes into view that is similar to the others, but much different.

The exterior of Sands Bethlehem fits in with the neighboring buildings so well that, at first glance, it too seems as if it, too, has been around for years. Upon closer inspection, however, the casino comes into focus, in more ways than one.

A multi-level garage, with a capacity for 3,400 vehicles, is located next to the casino and the steel generating revenue in this building encases the 3,000 state-of –the-art slot machines.

It does not have the table games or the sports books of Las Vegas, but there are 16 electronic black jack and three-card poker games. There are also club-style bars and upscale restaurants, including Emeril Lagasse’s latest offering, Emeril’s Chop House, that give the $743 million property a definite Vegas feel.

A quick drive through the garage gave a clue as to why Las Vegas Sands chose this region for its first East Coast casino. In addition to the plethora of Pennsylvania license plates, there were also an abundance of tags from New Jersey and New York, as well as a smattering from Delaware.

Robert DeSalvio, Sands Bethlehem casino president, said there are more than 17 million people located within 75 miles of the casino.

“We have a tremendous area to draw from,” DeSalvio said.

The casino drew 20,000 visitors on Friday, its first day of operation.

In its 140-year history, the Bethlehem Steel plant produced everything from military equipment to structural supports for iconic landmarks and employed generations of Eastern Pennsylvania families. The homage casino designers paid to that legacy goes far beyond the building's façade. Many interior features of the original plant buildings have been recreated and iconic equipment that was used throughout the plant’s history has also been preserved.

Las Vegas Sands has a grand opening event scheduled for June 9, but officials say they chose to do this soft opening first to take advantage of the Memorial Day holiday weekend.