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Summary: Sands Bethlehem Casino to be sold to the Poarch Band of Creek Indians to become the Wind Creek Casino Resort.
Sands Bethlehem casino is full-service, offering slot machines, video poker, multiple table games, and a poker room. They also offer an innovative way to play some old casino classics in a live dealer stadium environment. Sands values their loyal customers and they show it with a card-based player appreciation and reward system. Sands Bethlehem is a full-service casino that offers table games, slots, video poker, live dealer stadium gaming, a poker room, and a card-based promotional rewards system. Craps; Blackjack (and related side bet variants including Blazing 7’s progressive, 21+3 Xtreme, Kings Bounty, and Free Bet Blackjack). Casino Website The Wind Creek Bethlehem (formerly Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem) is a casino hotel located in the Bethlehem Works development site in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, in the United States.
The Sands Bethlehem Casino is one of the most successful in the state of Pennsylvania. The Las Vegas Sands Corp., the company behind the brand, is set to sell to the casino to the Poarch Band of Creek Indians. The acquisition will cost a total of $1.3 billion and has yet to be completed. Once finalized, the property will no longer be known as the Sands Bethlehem but will be called the Wind Creek Casino Resort.
Approved Name Change
The Poarch Band of Creek Indians may not be familiar to residents of Pennsylvania, but the tribe is very well-known in the south as a casino and resort operator. The tribe operates under the name Wind Creek Hospitality and want to use that name with the Sands Casino.
With the acquisition of the Sands Casino, the Wind Creek Hospitality group will enter the northeast gaming market for the very first time. It will also be the first time the group is operating in a state that offers online gambling in a regulated market.
Last week, the group was approved by the Bethlehem Planning Commission to change the name from the Sands to the Wind Creek Casino. The group has yet to earn the transfer of casino license approval from the Gaming Control Board but went ahead and sough the name change from the Planning Commission.
The Gaming Control Board has to hear the application of the two casino operators, the Sands Corp. and Wind Creek Hospitality. The transfer paperwork was filed back in late February and has yet to be heard by the Board. The Board doesn’t seem to ever be in a huge hurry to complete applications, as has been seen in the past with other considerations, including online gaming.
Plans for Expansion
As the Wind Creek Hospitality company takes over control of the Sands Casino, they will begin an expansion process. The group plans on spending $190 million to expand on the property’s offering. The expansion will include 300 new hotel guest rooms. The plans may also include an indoor water park.
On top of the casino acquisition, the Wind Creek group will be in control of the nearby outlet mall and events center.
Wind Creek wants to begin as quickly as possible with the casino project. Once the final approval has been given, officials will begin the construction process to get the ball rolling on the new guest rooms. With the project, as many as 400 jobs will be created on top of the 2,500 employees that are already working at the venue.
Currently the Sands Casino is the closest venue to New York City, so it stands to be profitable for the Wind Creek Hospitality group. The resort style casino is the closet option for visitors as well as residents of NYC.
For now, Wind Creek will be the best option in the region, staying on top in PA as well as a top choice for New York. However, the venue could potentially see competition as gaming operators are currently asking lawmakers in New York for a casino in the five boroughs of the state. Several operators are hoping to enter the NY market including Sands Corp.
If Sands were to get licensing in New York, then they would become a competitor to their former venue, soon to be taken over by Wind Creek.
Sands Bethlehem Casino Resort is one of the largest and most successful casinos in Pennsylvania. In fact, its annual revenues are second only to Parx Casino, according to state figures.
The casino, which opened in 2009, is built on the site of the former Bethlehem Steel company. However, the casino will likely change its name quite soon.
In March 2018, Wind Creek Hospitalitypurchased the Bethlehem property. The future of the site remains unclear, but the “Sands” part of the name will certainly disappear.
However, like all Pennsylvania casino properties, the value of Sands Bethlehem is about to skyrocket. Online gambling in the Keystone State should launch sometime in 2018.
Courtesy of an October 2017 law, Pennsylvania is now an online gambling state. The law, signed by Gov. Tom Wolf, authorizes online slots, table games, poker, daily fantasy sports, sports betting, and other types of gambling.
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Sands Bethlehem online casino platform
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So far, 11 of the 13 eligible Pennsylvania casinos have applied for some form of online gambling license. Sands Bethlehem is one of them, applying on behalf of its new ownership group.
However, neither Wind Creek nor Sands has a relationship with a technology provider that could bring online betting to fruition. The casino will require some sort of platform partner to proceed in the online space, but given how fluid the gambling industry is right now, a deal could happen at any time. There is always the possibility they try to build something in-house. The rush to get online ahead of the competition makes that possibility too time-consuming.
Any provider will have to offer solutions for both browser and mobile gameplay. Pennsylvania has usedNew Jersey‘s approach to online gambling as its model, and most New Jersey online casinos offer both versions of play.
Pennsylvania regulations will also be explicit regarding geolocation technology. Players will have to prove that they are physically within state lines to play.
Games at Sands Bethlehem online casino
Obviously, we can’t know exactly what games will appear in the Sands Bethlehem Online Casino. However, the games offered on the land-based side do provide a clue to what we might see.
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Sands Bethlehem Blackjack
Sands Bethlehem offers patrons a wide swath of Blackjack variations. These variations can amount to anything from extra side bets to structurally-changed options.
They are:
- Free Bet Blackjack
- Players can double down or split their hands for free. However, the game pushes if the dealer lands on 22.
- Blazing 7s
- An extra bet makes a player eligible for a progressive jackpot. The values of the players’ and dealer’s cards determine the outcome.
- 21+3 Xtreme
- A side bet that causes the player cards and the dealer’s up card to form a three-card poker hand. Successful combination pay out as much as 30 times your bet.
- King’s Bounty
- A side bet that the player’s first two cards will equal 20. Also, two kings of spades will pay out a jackpot.
- House Money
- A side bet in which the player’s first two cards are worth extra cash if they are Ace-King suited, a straight flush, a pair, or a straight. If the player wins, they then have the option to add their winnings to their original bet.
It is extremely likely that at least some or all of these variations will show up in the Sands Bethlehem Online Casino. Some of these variations already appear on other sites, so bringing them to market will be fairly simple. Please note that all these variants will not be to the exclusion of normal blackjack – they’ll be in addition to the standard game.
Other Sands Bethlehem table games
As one of Pennsylvania’s larger casinos, Sands Bethlehem offers a wide array of other table games, too. Some of them are quite rare, most notably Criss Cross Poker.
Criss Cross Poker is a table game based loosely on Texas Hold’em. Players receive two hole cards, then the standard Hold’em community cards are dealt in a cross-like pattern. Players bet on both the row and column to make winning five card hands.
The other table games at Sands Bethlehem include:
- Baccarat
- Big Six
- Caribbean Stud Poker
- Craps
- Fortune Pai Gow Poker
- Let It Ride
- Mini and Midi Baccarat
- Sic Bo
- Texas Hold’em Bonus
- Three Card Poker
- War
How many of these will appear on the Sands Bethlehem app is undetermined. However, one goal of any corresponding app is to mirror the land-based experience, so most of them will likely be there.
Sands Bethlehem slots
Sands Bethlehem has roughly 3,000 slot machines onsite. Slots will certainly be present in its online casino.
Some of Sands Bethlehem’s top slots are:
- Godzilla
- Grease
- The Hangover
- Powerball
- Wheel of Fortune Triple Spin Extreme
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Sands Bethlehem also has several video poker options at its site. It stands to reason that video poker will be a part of the online version of the casino.
Sands Bethlehem/Wind Creek rewards Programs
Sands Casino Bethlehem Pa
Sands owner Sheldon Adelson has long been an outspoken opponent of online gambling. So, an online casino won’t occur while Sands Bethlehem is still under his control.
How a membership in the current My Sands rewards program would transfer to Wind Creek Hospitality‘s rewards system is unclear. However, an online casino under the brand would certainly include a rewards club.
Wind Creek Rewards is already a robust program at its properties. New players receive up to $1,000 in free play and a $10 food credit.
How much of that largesse would extend to online players is unclear. However, it’s a good bet that Wind Creek will not be stingy in its new online home.
Banking options at Sands Bethlehem Online Casino
Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem
There will be a multitude of options to deposit and withdraw on the Sands Bethlehem Online Casino. They will likely be some mixture of the following:
- Visa
- Mastercard
- Neteller
- E-checks
- Bank wire
- Check
- PayPal
- Deposits at the Sands Bethlehem cage
It is also possible that the online casino will accept cryptocurrencies. So, Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other options may also appear on the list.
Sands Bethlehem Online Casino
Sands Bethlehem Online Casino customer service
Sands Bethlehem will maintain phone, email, and probably live chat support 24/7. There will also be an FAQ section that will address many common problems.
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