Old Pa. steel town now surging in casino business

September 29, 2012 | Modified: September 29, 2012 at 2:16 pm
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FILE - In this file photo from Friday, May 22, 2009, patrons are seen at the Sands Casino Bethlehem, in Bethlehem, Pa. A generation ago, this town was booming thanks to a manufacturing behemoth that helped build the New York City skyline, Panama Canal, battleships and countless miles of railway. Now, more than a decade after Bethlehem Steel went bankrupt, the city is reinvigorating itself through a different industry: casino gambling. (AP Photo/ Rick Smith, File)

BETHLEHEM, Pa. (AP) — The gambling industry is booming in an eastern Pennsylvania town where steel was once king.

Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem opened on the site of Bethlehem Steel in May 2009, nearly a decade after the steel giant folded. Now, it's grown into one of the biggest success stories of the state's young casino industry.

The resort consists of a casino, hotel, outlet mall and events center, and its gambling revenues routinely rank among the highest of the state's 11 casinos. A resort official says business has spiked with the addition of each new amenity and continued success is expected, especially considering projected population growth in the Lehigh Valley.

Meanwhile, preservationists and Bethlehem Steel veterans commend how the facility has paid homage to the steel past and how many items on the site have been preserved.