Happy Valley Casino is preparing to open at Nittany Mall by the end of spring 2026

Happy Valley Casino plans to open a venue at Nittany Mall in State College by the end of spring 2026. The renovated space is slated to be ready in March 2026, after which the facility is expected to move into final setup and preparations to welcome guests.

The project is being positioned as the first casino in Centre County. The venue will be located in the former Macy’s department store at 2901 E College Ave., and is described as comparable in scale to a regional entertainment center, where the gaming floor and related services play a key role.

What is known about the future casino

The future casino is described as a complex based in the mall’s former anchor tenant space, which in recent years has remained partially vacant amid store closures and declining foot traffic. Against this backdrop, the bet is on a new type of tenant capable of bringing visitor flow back to the Dale Summit Area, where the shopping center is located.

Key parameters already confirmed by project representatives:

• the first casino in Centre County
• the address of the future venue is 2901 E College Ave. in State College, the former Macy’s
• about 600 slot machines, table games, and two food-and-beverage outlets
• an estimated 350+ jobs, including the gaming floor, food-and-beverage operations, and training facilities

How the project made it to construction

The project roadmap stretched over several years and included an auction, public statements, lawsuits, and regulatory decisions. At a Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board meeting in August 2021, project initiator Ira

Lubert called State College “a local community in need of additional economic engines”, linking the launch to the idea of new sources of business activity.

Key milestones in order:

• September 2020, Ira Lubert wins the auction with a $10 million bid
• August 2021, remarks at the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board about the need for economic drivers
• subsequent legal disputes with competitors and protracted approvals
• last fall, Bally’s exits the project, citing a focus on other venues
• June, the regulator approves the transfer of the controlling stake
• early January, the stake transfer legally takes effect
• last summer, the active phase of work begins
• March 2026 is stated as the deadline for the venue’s readiness
• the end of spring 2026 is indicated as the opening target

Owners, partners, and ownership structure

Ira Lubert, a Penn State graduate, is the project initiator and the auction winner from which the story of the future casino at Nittany Mall began. It was his bid that secured the location and set in motion a long chain of legal and construction procedures.

The majority owner is now Saratoga Casino Holdings, a gaming company from upstate New York. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board approved the transfer of the controlling stake in June, and legally it took effect in early January. Previously, Lubert worked in partnership with Bally’s Corporation, but the company exited the project last fall to focus on other properties.

Renovation of Macy’s and an interim base in Shoe Depot

The main work is being carried out in the former Macy’s building, which is effectively being converted from a classic department store into a purpose-built gaming and entertainment venue. According to project representatives, construction crews are working intensively to meet the March 2026 readiness date, and the schedule itself has repeatedly come under pressure from lawsuits and regulatory processes, including changes in the ownership structure.

In parallel, a temporary setup is operating in the space of the former Shoe Depot store. It houses offices, some equipment, slot machines, as well as a dealer school, which has become an interim operating base until the main venue opens at Nittany Mall.

What will appear inside and what leisure model they are betting on

The interior concept of the future Happy Valley Casino is described in terms of an all-in-one night out, where the gaming component is complemented by service. In addition to the gaming floor, two food-and-beverage outlets are planned, which for such properties usually means the ability to keep visitors on-site longer and distribute traffic across different areas.

The stated lineup includes about 600 slot machines and table games. The format is being promoted as part of the entertainment infrastructure and evening entertainment for adult local residents, not tied to the student scene in downtown State College.

Dealer school and the staffing pipeline

A separate element of the project is the dealer school, launched out of practical necessity. In the region, according to the team’s assessment, the pool of active table-game dealers is limited, so the focus is on training staff within the system.

CEO and general manager Eric Pearson said “We’ve always known that we would be doing our own training programs”. The school’s terms include free training, paid training, and guaranteed employment after graduation at the new venue.

Jobs and the controversy around the project

According to Pearson’s estimate, in total the dealer school, dining outlets, and the casino staff should provide Centre County with more than 350 jobs. It is specified that a significant portion of employees are hired in Centre County itself and neighboring counties, and work experience is not a mandatory requirement for admission to the dealer school.

At the same time, the project is drawing a mixed reaction. Among opponents’ concerns are a possible increase in crime, the social impacts of gambling, and the impact on the surrounding community around the mall. Nittany Mall management, by contrast, links the project to a chance to revitalize the area and fill vacant space, while one management staff member, speaking on condition of anonymity, noted “The hope is that people are going to be fighting for spaces”, asking not to be named. The mall’s internal logic is built around expectations of new traffic and the return of tenants, but measurable metrics of this effect have not yet been publicly disclosed.

The question of the project’s profitability as one of the points of contention

The development of the online casino segment is increasingly raising the question of whether it makes sense to open new land-based casinos. People who want to gamble are increasingly choosing virtual venues, since Pennsylvania is one of the states with legal online gambling. Players can count on legal protections and at the same time receive a wide selection of games.

According to data from niche sites that rank highly in search results, the live dealer games segment is becoming increasingly popular, from card entertainment to roulette. As the authors of https://xxxtremeroulette.com/, dedicated to the game XXXTreme Lightning Roulette, note, an action-oriented version of roulette attracts players who like to feel like part of a community. This trend is also spreading to other live dealer games.

The combination of advantages makes online casinos a sought-after alternative to land-based gambling establishments. Therefore, before opening new casinos under modern conditions, risks and prospects are calculated even more carefully.

The post-graduation audience and the next steps before opening

Marketing manager Alana Völk emphasized that the project is aimed not only at students, but at a broader city audience, including those who stay in State College after their studies. In her words, “I think once you graduate, that’s actually a very underserved market in this area”, and in this niche the casino sees a potential point of attraction for an evening format.

Before opening, the key milestones remain the continuation of the renovation in the former Macy’s and the parallel operation of the temporary base in Shoe Depot, including the dealer school and administrative functions. The target milestone for construction readiness is set for March 2026, and the launch for visitors is planned by the end of spring 2026.