Buses return to Wind Creek Bethlehem casino, with modifications
Motorcoaches have returned to Wind Creek Bethlehem for the first time in seven months, albeit on a much more limited schedule and with several changes.
Wind Creek launched a modified bus program this week “to resume business efforts” at the casino, spokesperson Julia Corwin said Friday. The casino’s busing program had been suspended since mid-March at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
Corwin said bus operators participating in the modified program must follow cleaning and safety protocols, such as checking the temperature of riders before they board and then again before they enter the casino. The buses also have to run at 50% capacity, with socially distanced seating. Operators must sanitize the bus between arrival and departure, she added.
“At this time, we have reduced the incoming buses by 80% to maintain a socially distanced environment for our guests,” Corwin said.
When asked where the buses are coming from, Corwin declined to share the routes, saying that is part of the casino’s marketing strategy.
Trans-Bridge Lines spokesperson Jennifer Lechiski said the Bethlehem bus operator has not resumed service between the casino and New York City. Also, Raritan Valley Bus Service in Edison, New Jersey, , said it has not resumed its service from central New Jersey to Wind Creek.
The casino, dating back to when it was Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem, built a robust busing program from New York City and northern New Jersey that helped turn the Bethlehem property into one of Pennsylvania’s most successful casinos. At a little more than 80 miles west of New York City, Wind Creek is the closest casino to the Big Apple with live table games.
Wind Creek, like the rest of the casino industry, has been battered by the pandemic, which forced the property to close for more than 100 days. It reopened in late June at less than the permitted 50% occupancy and last month announced it was laying off 20% of its employees amid significantly lower business volumes. The Bethlehem property now employs about 1,600 people, Corwin said.
In September, Wind Creek recorded gambling revenue of almost $32 million, down 22% from $41 million a year earlier, according to numbers released Friday by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. Wind Creek, which has long been Pennsylvania’s table games king, fell to second in table games revenue last month, trailing Parx Casino in Bucks County.
Wind Creek is, however, working toward getting its sportsbook open in late November and is seeing growth from the online gambling platform it launched in late July. In September, Wind Creek had online gambling revenue of more than $562,000, which was up from almost $214,000 in August.