Gray, cracking and having outlived any architectural utility it once possessed, the grandstand at The Meadows harness racing track will be razed in coming weeks. In its place will be built a $155 million casino and hotel, scheduled to open in early 2009.

"A lot of glass," said Jay Boyd, marketing director at The Meadows and a veteran of four casino openings, in Las Vegas and elsewhere. "A lot of good-looking stuff." The "stuff" will include a multi-use theater, three bars, a lounge with a racetrack view, a covered grandstand, a 425-seat restaurant and a food court -- in addition to the 3,000 slot machines.

The casino also could accommodate table games, if the need ever arose, by removing several hundred slots.

Meadows officials and Washington County politicians revealed the plans for the casino yesterday. But the big news was the adjacent 200-room hotel, a feature common at casinos across the country, that would compete for guests with the Wheeling Island Racetrack & Gaming Center, which has a 150-room hotel.

The attachment of a hotel to The Meadows' plans isn't necessarily a surprise, since casinos like to keep their gamblers on site for days at a time, but the casino and track, owned by Cannery Casino Resorts of Las Vegas, hadn't mentioned the possibility of a hotel until Tuesday morning.

The hotel wasn't part of the original casino plan, but a two step-process isn't unusual -- a casino often waits to gauge demand before committing to a hotel, or a specific room allotment. The developers of the Majestic Star Casino on Pittsburgh's North Shore have said that they'll build a hotel "when demand dictates." At Station Square, plans were fluid too -- the proposed Harrah's casino would have been accompanied by either an expanded Sheraton hotel, or a new hotel tower, depending on casino turnout.

The Meadows had been contemplating a hotel, but only committed to it after the temporary casino opened in June.

The hotel and spa will add instant room capacity to the developing retail corridor along Washington County's Racetrack Road, which will soon be home to a Tanger Outlet Center, a Bass Pro Outdoor World and another hotel, Hampton Inn & Suites, which is set to open this summer. Already nearby are a Holiday Inn and a Comfort Inn.

The addition of 200 more rooms is welcome, said Rod Piatt, president of Cecil Township-based Horizon Properties, which is building the Hampton Inn.

"I always fully expected Bill Paulos to have a hotel component to his casino. I think there's plenty of demand. I think you'll see more hotels in that corridor in the next couple years," said Mr. Piatt. Bill Paulos is of two principal owners of Cannery Resorts (the other is Bill Wortman).

The removal of the 44-year-old grandstand will begin shortly after this Saturday's racing event, and live racing will be suspended for two months as a result.

Casino executives expect that the hotel and permanent casino, which will replace the temporary tent-style casino already up and running, will employ more than 1,400. The casino is being designed by Climans Green Liang Architect, a Canadian firm that has racetrack casinos in New York, Ontario and New Mexico. LPCiminelli, based in Buffalo, will be the lead contractor on the casino, and also is building a casino in the Poconos.

That project, the Mount Airy Resort and Casino, is being developed by Louis DeNaples, the subject of a grand jury probe, investigating whether Mr. DeNaples lied about alleged ties to a reputed Scranton mob boss. Mr. DeNaples made an appearance in Harrisburg yesterday before the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board to give an update on the progress at his site, as did representatives from five other casinos.

The $412 million Mount Airy project will open this fall, around Oct. 15, with a hotel, meeting rooms and some retail shops opening about a month later. Eventually the number of slots will be 3,000.

Mohegan Sun Chief Executive Officer Robert Soper said construction began in May on his $180 million permanent casino at Pocono Downs near Wilkes-Barre, which should be open by fall 2008. It will contain 2,500 slots, twice as many as are now in the temporary casino, which opened last November.

Philadelphia Park Chairman Bob Green said his new master plan, with details of the permanent casino, will be completed in two months. A casino with a Hollywood movie theme, located at the Penn National racetrack, is due to open in February or March, the board was told. There will be 2,000 slots at first in the $310 million project, 20 miles east of Harrisburg, with another 1,000 to be added later. Penn National decided to build just a permanent casino, not a temporary one.

Meanwhile, Sands Bethworks in Bethlehem has much work to do in razing an old steel mill, which is on the land where it will be located. It hopes to open with 3,000 slots in the spring of 2009, with a hotel, restaurant and retail shops opening a few months later. It could add an additional 2,000 slots by late 2009.