Truck stop to be one-arm Bandit?
It’s not slots, but site off I-78 in Lehigh County, is adding five video gaming terminals.
Exit 45 off Interstate 78 in Weisenberg Township already offers travelers the opportunity to grab a bite at New Smithville Diner, fill up their gas tank or book a room at the Super 8 by Wyndham.
Coming this year, a new offering will make Exit 45 the western Lehigh Valley’s Exit of Chance.
That’s because Bandit Truck Stop, at 2277 Golden Key Road, is planning to add five slot machine-style video gambling terminals, setting it up to become the first truck stop in the Lehigh Valley to capitalize on a measure included in Pennsylvania’s massive gambling expansion, signed into law in October 2017.
While Bandit Truck Stop is one of more than 20 establishments across the state to receive conditional license approval so far, it’s unknown when the first terminals will go live — a timeline that should become clearer in the months ahead.
For its part, Bandit Truck Stop hopes to begin remodeling its second-floor driver lounge — now home to a few chairs and a
TV — to resemble a tiny casino, a setting more fitting for the eventual entrance of five terminals, said Zackary Bilotti, controller of Pipeline Petroleum Inc., which owns and operates the truck stop.
The company has partnered with terminal operator Commonwealth Gaming and hopes to turn on its video gambling terminals as early as the second quarter, depending on when the state gives the establishment the final go-ahead, Bilotti said.
“It’s a draw for not only the truckers but also the community to experience gaming locally,” he said. “They don’t have to drive to Sands or Penn National. It’s in their own backyard.”
Because of the law’s specifications, Bandit Truck Stop could end up being the only Lehigh Valley truck stop to add gambling terminals, though Trexler Plaza Truck Stop in Upper Macungie Township is said to be floating the idea.
Meanwhile, Northampton County opted out of having the terminals at qualifying truck stops in the county, something it was allowed to do by virtue of hosting Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem.
As it was, Northampton County Council members said in November 2017 that they believed only one truck stop, in Stockertown, would have qualified anyway.
Per the law, video gambling terminals can only be in truck stops equipped with diesel islands that have sold an average of 50,000 gallons of diesel each month for the last year.
In addition, qualifying stops must have a convenience store, at least 20 parking spaces for trucks and must sit on at least 3 acres. Oh, and they must also be licensed as a lottery sales agent.
“It’s hard to get this license,” Bilotti said.
Once a truck stop gets conditional approval, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board will inspect it to ensure the establishment meets all of the criteria, board spokesman Richard McGarvey said.
In addition, he noted, the board also will have to test the software behind the terminals before they go live.
“The pieces are starting to fall in place,” said McGarvey, who expects the timing of truck stop gambling to become clearer in the coming months.
As for what a video gambling terminal is, think of the device as a lower-stakes slot machine with video themes.
In Pennsylvania, the maximum bet on a terminal will be $5, with a maximum payout of $1,000. The terminals will only accept cash, with winnings paid through a redemption machine.
By law, the minimum payout percentage for the terminals is 85 percent, the same as slot machines in the state’s casinos. Also similarly, the terminals will be taxed at 52 percent, just shy of the 54 percent collected from Pennsylvania casinos’ slot machines.
As for how many truck stops across the state could host terminals?
The most recent list from the state, updated Tuesday, shows 24 sites with conditional approval and 40 as “unauthorized,” meaning those locations haven’t yet had their applications processed.
Half of those 40 are applications for Rutter’s locations, including a store at 100 Grand St. in Hamburg, Berks County, about 17 miles west of the Bandit Truck Stop.
On Monday, Rutter’s announced it had selected Marquee by Penn LLC, an affiliate of Penn National Gaming Inc., as its terminal operator in Pennsylvania.
Penn National already is a known VGT operator, having acquired one of the largest VGT route operators in Illinois in 2015. The company had 377 VGT locations in its portfolio as of Oct. 15, according to its website.
But Penn National isn’t the only terminal operator making a play in Pennsylvania.
More than 60 truck stops have selected Commonwealth Gaming, which has built large video gambling routes in Illinois, Louisiana and Oklahoma, said Amy Christie, Commonwealth Gaming’s executive vice president of government affairs and business.
Of those, more than 30 have submitted applications to the state, with 22 conditionally approved so far, she noted.
Christie expects to sign up about 40 more sites, which would give Commonwealth Gaming around 100 stops. Eventually, she expects roughly 150 truck stops across the state to offer video gambling.
Christie said she expects Bandit Truck Stop to be a solid terminal location, especially with the site’s overnight truck parking.
“Bandit is going to be a phenomenal stop,” she said. “The amount of traffic and the amount of truckers they get is unbelievable. They should be a great location.”
jon.harris@mcall.com Twitter @ByJonHarris 610-820-6779