The casino will offer up to 600 slot machines and 50 table games - including blackjack, craps, roulette and Pai Gow Poker - with the option to add 15 tables for monthly poker tournaments. Scheri said carpet has been laid inside the casino, which was 90 percent complete, and slot machines have been installed.
But to gamble at the $132.5 million casino, patrons must meet criteria set forth in an access plan that was approved in December by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.
The access plan allows gambling by patrons of the Valley Forge Convention Center and its amenities, including restaurants, bars and retail shops, who spend at least $10, stay at one of the two center's hotels, or use the spa.
Anyone attending a meeting, convention, or other event at the Convention Center could also gain casino access, as could people with dining and entertainment memberships there.
The two hotels at the Valley Forge Convention Center offer 486 guest rooms and suites. There is also 100,000-square feet of meeting and conference space - designed to lure in conventions and trade shows.
"We want to make sure the patrons know that we are a little different," said Scheri. "In order to get on the casino floor, there are some things they have to do."
When it debuts in spring, the 33,222-square-foot Valley Forge Casino Resort will join an already fiercely competitive regional gaming market that includes Parx in Bensalem, Harrah's Chester Casino and Racetrack, and SugarHouse on Penn's Landing.
"We've always been on pace to open in early spring . . . but we just weren't able to finalize a date," Scheri said. "Everything is on schedule. Construction is moving. Slots are being delivered. Table game equipment and the technology system are being installed, and people are getting hired.
"It's like conducting a symphony with all the different pieces coming together and sounding like Mozart," he said.
