Live Casino Pittsburgh in Hempfield’s Westmoreland Mall will move its poker room and create a new high limit gambling space in a $3 million construction project slated for completion in October.

Mascaro Construction, based in Pittsburgh’s Chateau neighborhood, started renovations two weeks ago and is now in the demolition phase, said casino General Manager Sean Sullivan.

Nearly half of the project cost will go toward moving the existing poker room to the first floor, Sullivan said. It will sit adjacent to the gaming area near the mall entrance to the casino.

The poker room was unveiled on the second floor of the casino in 2021.

After hearing feedback from customers, the casino decided to make the space more accessible by moving it to the first floor, Sullivan said.

“It could be a problem, because people don’t notice it when they come in,” Sullivan said, referring to the current poker room.

The new 1,050-square-foot space will feature six tables, offering Texas Hold’em and various Omaha games.

The current 1,600-square-foot poker room space — located on the second floor across from the Sports & Social restaurant and bar — will be turned into a bar, restaurant and lounge area for themed casino events and private events.

The space will complement the Venue Live, an event space opened on the second floor of the casino in 2022 that has hosted Reptile Expos, charity events and, during the winter months, the Greensburg Night Market.

“That room serves the community as much as it does for us,” Sullivan said. “For us, it’s weddings, it’s galas, it’s conferences … but it’s also that out-of-the-box thinking.”

The casino will also expand its high limit gambling room to include slot machines and three gaming tables. The 850-square-foot space also will feature a bar.

“The root of why we’re doing it is because we listened to our customers,” Sullivan said of the renovations. “We ask them ‘What can we do to make sure that you love coming here?’”

Mall at 95% occupancy in 2023

The casino, a $150 million facility owned by Maryland-based Cordish Companies, came to Westmoreland Mall in November 2020.

At the end of 2023, 95% of the mall’s spaces were occupied, according to Stacey Keating, spokesperson for mall owner CBL Properties. Monroeville Mall had an 86% occupancy rate at that time, she said.

A Dick’s Sporting Goods location also is expected for the Westmoreland Mall. Dick’s signed a lease in February for the 200,070-square-foot space formerly occupied by Sears, which closed in 2019.

The Findlay-based sporting goods chain has stores behind the mall and at Hempfield Pointe Plaza along Route 30. Dick’s did not respond immediately to a request for additional information.

Dick’s announced in November it will open 10 more interactive sporting goods stores, called House of Sport locations, this year. One opened at Ross Park Mall in April.