Las Vegas Sands Corp. Builds Casino on Steel Mill Skeleton

Where once the country ran on production and heavy industry, now the service and entertainment business takes top dollar.

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, the heart of steel country and the home for years to the Bethlehem Steel mill, became a symbol of the economic change in the country as Las Vegas Sands Corp. continued on its quest to construct a $800 million casino and resort upon the old mill site.

Just as the Sands Hotel and Casino was swept away by the currents of time (as well as the bulldozers of Sheldon Adelson), now the ancient plant that provided so much of the country's building materials will be replaced with a modern destination hotel, replete with 300 rooms and 3000 slots, opening next June.

Where once the country ran on production and heavy industry, now the service and entertainment business takes top dollar.

The location was deliberately chosen by Las Vegas Sands to draw from the central New Jersey area that traditionally gambles in Atlantic City. Although no table games will be available, the plush resort will feature nine restaurants, three entertainment lounges, a two-story mall, and a 1400-seat special events arena.

The toddering steel mill occupies over twenty percent of the town's land area, only a fraction of which is being used by Sands; ArtsQuest, an organization dedicated to the culture of the area, will erect SteelStax, an attraction featuring the remains of the old mill as a sight-seeing backdrop.

Still, locals are at once happy about the jobs being created, and angry and suspicious that their tradition is being pushed aside. Some have for years protested any development that didn't honor the old plant, joining a group called Save Our Steel. One member made sure she would always carry the marks of her past, having the steel mill tattooed on her back.