The Casino Theatre Entertainment Center is a two-screen movie house and ice cream shop in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania. This year-round family-owned and operated business, founded in 1975, was built on the site of the Casino dance hall and night club, which was itself established in 1922.In addition to first-run movies, the Casino houses the Village Malt Shoppe, which features an old-fashioned soda fountain offering ice cream soda, malted milk, milkshake, egg cream and phosphates, as well as a large selection of ice cream flavors.There is also a redemption game room geared toward younger children, and an 18-hole miniature golf course.HistoryThe "Casino" name predates the existing Casino Theatre building and business, and goes back to a landmark dance hall built on the same spot in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania. Several decades later the building was transformed into a movie house, with seats placed on the flat dance floor and the screen on the stage. The "Casino Theatre," complete with British spelling of "theater," was born.The original one-story 1922 Casino building, originally used as a dance hall and night club, was converted to a movie theater after being purchased by Mrs. H.C. Smith of Stroudsburg.The theater building was purchased in 1974 by three local couples: George & Sheila Litz of Cresco, and two couples from Pocono Farms, Victor & Diane Genco and John & Ruth Hildebrand. The three families formed a business entity called LIGEND, Inc., from the letters of their last names, and incorporated it with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on March 12, 1975.
