The middle of Pennsylvania has five casino floors, and only one of them opened before 2021. Hollywood Casino at Penn National began as a thoroughbred track at Grantville on 30 August 1972. The other four are satellite floors that opened between August 2021 and April 2026, and two of those four were built inside shopping malls: York's in the York Galleria, State College's in a former Macy's at the Nittany Mall. Whichever you pick, you must be 21 to play.
The track that started a company
Penn National is the anchor, and not only by size. The operator that grew up around this Dauphin County racetrack became Penn Entertainment, and every Hollywood Casino in Pennsylvania and Ohio descends from it. Two of the four satellites in this guide, York and Morgantown, carry the same Hollywood name.
The floor sits off I-81 about seventeen miles east of Harrisburg and holds more than 2,400 machines and upwards of 40 live tables. It also keeps an 11-table poker room, the only real card room between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Outside the casino there is a one-mile dirt oval with a seven-furlong turf course inside it, home of the Penn Mile, plus a Hollywood Memories film-memorabilia museum. Penn National review.
The satellite floors
Pennsylvania's Category 4 licence lets existing operators open smaller casinos in underserved areas, and the four satellites differ more than the label suggests.
Hollywood Casino York opened on 12 August 2021 as the state's second mini-casino. Being in a mall means covered, free parking and somewhere for non-players to wander. It runs 24 live tables, a race book for simulcast wagering and more than 500 machines, and it launched as a largely cashless floor.
Hollywood Casino Morgantown, opened that December as a $111 million build at the Turnpike and Route 176, is the eastern edge of the region. Its 30-table live pit spreads unusual carnival games such as Cajun Stud, Heads Up Hold'em and High Card Flush, and its 750 machines make it the largest of the newer satellites.
Parx Casino Shippensburg, opened in February 2023 in the Cumberland Valley, is the one to read carefully. Its 48 table games are all electronic terminals, so there is no live dealer anywhere on the floor.
Happy Valley Casino is the newest, opened on 27 April 2026 as Centre County's first casino. It has 600 slots and 30 tables now, with room under its licence to reach 750 and 40. A partnership including the group behind Saratoga Casino Hotel runs it, not a national brand.
Side by side
| Penn National | York | Morgantown | Shippensburg | Happy Valley | |
| Opened | 1972 (track) | August 2021 | December 2021 | February 2023 | April 2026 |
| Setting | Racetrack, Grantville | York Galleria Mall | Turnpike junction | Off I-81 | Nittany Mall |
| Machines | 2,400+ | 500+ | 750 | About 500 | 600 |
| Tables | 40+ live | 24 live | 30 live | 48 electronic, no live pit | 30 |
| Poker room | 11 tables | No | No | No | No |
| Hours | 24/7 | 24/7 | 24/7 | Closes midnight Sun to Thu | Check venue |
| Google rating | 4.0 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 3.4 |
Choosing from Harrisburg
From Harrisburg the decision is mostly about distance and dealers. Penn National is the nearest and biggest, and it is the only one with live poker or horses. Shippensburg is roughly forty minutes south-west, but go only if electronic tables suit you; it also shuts at midnight on weeknights and at 2am on Fridays and Saturdays. York, about forty minutes east of Shippensburg, is the closest alternative with real dealers. Morgantown makes more sense for players coming from Reading or Lancaster, both within about an hour.
Happy Valley serves State College. On a Penn State home Saturday, Beaver Stadium's 106,000-plus crowd changes the floor completely, so come midweek for a quiet session. Its 3.4 rating rests on roughly 150 reviews, a thin sample for a floor this new.
Frequently asked questions
What is the closest casino to Harrisburg?
Hollywood Casino at Penn National, about seventeen miles east at Grantville.
Which central Pennsylvania casino has a poker room?
Only Penn National, with 11 tables.
Does Parx Casino Shippensburg have live table games?
No. All 48 of its table games are electronic.
Which casinos are inside shopping malls?
Hollywood Casino York, in the York Galleria, and Happy Valley Casino, in the Nittany Mall.
Curious about playing from home instead? Read our guide to online gambling in Pennsylvania.
