SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. (WHTM) – Cars filled the former Lowes parking lot Friday morning for the grand opening of Parx Casino Shippensburg.

“It’s great in some ways, it’s relief,” said Marc Oppenheimer, the casino’s chief marketing officer.

For people in Shippensburg, this casino will bring some light to the city.

“(There’s) not anything within a good hour drive here so it’s nice to have something a little closer,” said resident Sheena Jones.

“I can’t see a bad thing about it and plus it’s going to attract so many more people to the area,” said Kelly Troiano.

January 23 and 24 were testing days to make sure everything was working properly, and all of the proceeds went to four different charities.

“Throughout the existence of our company we have always had a focus of being a great community partner,” said Oppenheimer.

Parx Casino officials gave $6,500 to four local charities and dedicated at least $1 million to Shippensburg community programs for the next 10 years.

The completely smoke-free casino will be open 24-house. It has 500 slot machines, 48 table games, and a restaurant that seats 100 people.