Changes to Choctaw Casino

The Golden Moon Casino located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania will soon be seeing some changes to its facility and gambling equipment. The casino, which is owned and operated by the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, will be cleared of some of its slot machines and blackjack tables; in their place will be a new theater for entertainment and musical performances.

Warren Strain, a spokesman for the tribe, said the tribe had originally been looking at possibilities to upgrade its nearby Silver Star casino in order to accommodate performers. Currently, the Silver Star casino hosts performances in a meeting room that seats around 2,200, a small facility considering acts such as Bonnie Raitt, Jay Leno, and B.B. King have made appearances.

“We’re looking at 4,500 to 5,000 seat capacity at the Golden Moon,” said Strain, “and the room is so large and the ceiling so high, we would expect to draw all different types of acts: bigger names, and better acts, and more options to the area.”

Both the Silver Star and the Golden Moon will continue their operations as casinos, however, a large portion of the 80,000 square feet of floor space at the Golden Moon will be allocated to the new entertainment center.

“We expect it to be the largest gaming-associated events center in Mississippi and, maybe, in the southeast,” said Strain.

The Golden Moon was originally opened in 2002, but at the beginning of 2009, the tribe elected to only open the casino and hotel on weekends. Having the facility opened during the week was a drain on gambling revenues and was not living up to the tribe’s original expectations for its success. It remained open on the weekends to accommodate overflow gamblers from the more successful Silver Star casino.

The entertainment center at the Golden Moon is scheduled to open by January 1, 2011.

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