Harrah's Philadelphia Casino & Racetrack - Chester PA
Posted by: 
Don.Morfe
N 39° 51.079 W 075° 20.900
18S E 470201 N 4411313
Harrah's Philadelphia Casino & Racetrack is located at 777 Harrah's Blvd, Chester PA. The casino is named after William F. Harrah the founder of the Harrah's Casino organization.
Waymark Code: WM193Z3
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 11/21/2023
Views: 1
The Place:
(From Wikipedia) "Harrah's Philadelphia Casino & Racetrack is a harness racing track and casino (a racino) on the Chester, Pennsylvania waterfront. It is owned by Vici Properties and operated by Caesars Entertainment.
The track was built on the site of the former Sun Shipbuilding campus. Its first harness racing season opened on September 10, 2006.
On September 27, 2006, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board gave Harrah's Chester its slots license. The Board approved Harrah's application for the permanent slot-machine gaming operator license on December 20, 2006. The casino opened on January 22, 2007, one day earlier than anticipated. Catania Engineering Associates performed the site design for this project.
The casino began offering live table games on July 18, 2010.
In May 2012, Harrah's Chester changed its name to Harrah's Philadelphia to appeal to a broader market.
In 2018, Vici Properties, a real estate company that had earlier been spun off from Caesars, purchased the land and buildings of Harrah's Philadelphia from Caesars for $242 million. Caesars leased back the property for $21 million per year.
On January 22, 2019, sports betting began at Harrah's Philadelphia with a testing period; a formal grand opening occurred on January 24, 2019. Sports betting takes place at Caesars Sportsbook, a 4,322-square-foot (401.5 m2) sportsbook with an odds board, 6 teller windows, self-betting kiosks, and 2 terminals for betting on horse races. The sportsbook has 19 lounge seats, 11 high-top tables, bar seating, and over 45 big-screen TVs. Sports betting is available on multiple sports including football, basketball, baseball, hockey, soccer, and college sports.
Amenities
The casino consists of over 2,000 slot machines, 100,000 square feet (9,300 m2) of gaming space, a 14,000-square-foot (1,300 m2) event center, and numerous dineries, eateries, meeting rooms, and retail establishments."
The Person:
(From Wikipedia) "William Fisk Harrah (September 2, 1911 – June 30, 1978) was an American businessman and the founder of Harrah's Hotel and Casinos, now part of Caesars Entertainment.
Harrah used his influence to create the Nevada Gaming Control Board in 1955, an organization designed to regulate gaming in Nevada. In 1959, Harrah helped create an even stronger Gaming Commission to rid the state's casinos of corruption.
Harrah was known for his relations with both his customers and employees. The main theater in Harrah's Reno, originally called the Headliner Room, was renamed Sammy's Showroom after entertainer Sammy Davis, Jr. (whose Duesenberg replica now resides in the museum that bears Harrah's name), and actor-comedian Bill Cosby recalls Harrah as a good friend.
Harrah was married seven times to six women, including a four-month marriage to the singer-songwriter Bobbie Gentry in 1969; the sugar baby relationship was alluded to in Gentry's fictionalized account of her life, "Fancy," in which a "benevolent man" (Harrah) takes in an impoverished Southern prostitute (Gentry).
With ex-wife Scherry (whom he married twice), he adopted two boys named John and Tony. He had one birth child, Jeanie Eiliene Sexton Harrah, with Marvel Tudor in 1956. His widow, Verna, worked as a film producer on such features as Anaconda.
He won Best of Show at the prestigious Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance 4 times in 1963, 1964, 1966, and 1976.
Harrah died at the Mayo Clinic Hospital in Rochester, Minnesota, at the age of 66, during a cardiac surgery operation to repair an aortic aneurysm. He left an estate valued at $138 million which was split into two trusts, one for his wife Verna and one for his sons.
The William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, which opened in 1967, was renamed in his honor in 1989, in recognition of a $5 million gift from his widow.
When the car his father bought him was stolen and stripped, Harrah vowed to his sister that one day he would own a duplicate of every automobile the family had ever owned.
Harrah had an extensive collection of cars. Many of his cars enjoyed 'best' or 'one-of-a kind' status. Some notable items of his collection were the two Bugatti Type 41s, a Phantom Corsair, two Ferraris and a pair of Jerrari Wagoneers. In 1966 his Bugatti Type 41 Coupe de Ville won Best of Show at Pebble Beach."
Year it was dedicated: 2007
Location of Coordinates: Entrance to the Casino
Related Web address (if available): [Web Link]
Type of place/structure you are waymarking: Building
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