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Casino projects off and running as Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board awards final five licenses
"Where High Stakes Meet Cheesesteaks"-that's the marketing slogan the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau will begin testing later this year, as the city now becomes the largest in the United States to include casino gambling as one of its attractions.
Casino projects by Foxwoods Development Corp. LLC and SugarHouse Gaming were selected by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board to receive conditional slot licenses for Philadelphia-area gaming. They were among five licenses awarded Dec. 20 for full-fledged casinos and are among 11 licenses that have been awarded statewide-the other six allow slot machines to be added to existing racetracks throughout the state.
SugarHouse said it planned to break ground this spring on its temporary gambling hall, which would later open as a $550 million permanent casino in 2009. Foxwoods is expected to begin building its $560 million permanent casino in April, aiming to be open by November 2008. The two projects beat out several other proposed casino plans for the Philadelphia area, including a project by Atlantic City casino mogul Donald Trump.
Philadelphia tourism officials said casino gaming will supplement the city's existing attractions.
"One of the things the casinos will do is reinforce the nighttime aspect for us," Meryl Levitz, president and chief executive officer of the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corp. told the Philadelphia Inquirer. "Having casinos is a further cue that the city is a nighttime destination as well as a historic town."
Meanwhile, Pennsylvania businessman Louis A. DeNaples won a license for a casino in the Pocono Mountains at the Mount Airy Lodge , which he plans to reopen next year. A group led by Las Vegas Sands Corp. also won a license to build a $600 million Sands-Bethworks casino- resort at the site of the defunct Bethlehem Steel Corp. in Bethlehem, Pa.
"I think everybody, to a person, is going to be able to point to Bethlehem and the Bethworks project and say, 'That is indeed why we passed gaming in the state, and that project alone justifies what was done," said Bethlehem Mayor John B. Callahan, who was a proponent of the project as a way to revive his financially struggling city.
In Pittsburgh, PITG Gaming, owned by Detroit businessman and casino operator Don H. Barden, won the rights to build a $455 million casino property, beating out proposals by Forest City Enterprises/Harrah's Station Square and Isle of Capri Casinos Inc. Isle of Capri's proposal was tied to the Pittsburgh Penguins National Hockey League franchise and would have provided funds to build a new arena for the team.
But Barden's proposal will also aid an arena, as well as a commitment to assist a $350 million redevelopment plan in the Lower Hill-with input from the area's stakeholders. PITG will invest $7.5 million a year for the next 30 years toward the cost of a new arena for the city.
"It is a pleasure and an honor to be able to bring the company's rich gaming tradition to Pittsburgh, so this is a very exciting day for me," Barden said. "I'm also excited that this project will allow me to be a part of the Hill district's rebirth."
The Gaming Control Board rejected a proposed casino by Connecticut-based Silver Point Capital LP near the historic Civil War battleground of Gettysburg. The proposal generated significant opposition from preservationists and anti-casino groups, which argued that a casino there would essentially taint the famed landmark.
-Andy Holtmann
Casino projects off and running as Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board awards final five licenses
"Where High Stakes Meet Cheesesteaks"-that's the marketing slogan the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau will begin testing later this year, as the city now becomes the largest in the United States to include casino gambling as one of its attractions.
Casino projects by Foxwoods Development Corp. LLC and SugarHouse Gaming were selected by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board to receive conditional slot licenses for Philadelphia-area gaming. They were among five licenses awarded Dec. 20 for full-fledged casinos and are among 11 licenses that have been awarded statewide-the other six allow slot machines to be added to existing racetracks throughout the state.
SugarHouse said it planned to break ground this spring on its temporary gambling hall, which would later open as a $550 million permanent casino in 2009. Foxwoods is expected to begin building its $560 million permanent casino in April, aiming to be open by November 2008. The two projects beat out several other proposed casino plans for the Philadelphia area, including a project by Atlantic City casino mogul Donald Trump.
Philadelphia tourism officials said casino gaming will supplement the city's existing attractions.
"One of the things the casinos will do is reinforce the nighttime aspect for us," Meryl Levitz, president and chief executive officer of the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corp. told the Philadelphia Inquirer. "Having casinos is a further cue that the city is a nighttime destination as well as a historic town."
Meanwhile, Pennsylvania businessman Louis A. DeNaples won a license for a casino in the Pocono Mountains at the Mount Airy Lodge , which he plans to reopen next year. A group led by Las Vegas Sands Corp. also won a license to build a $600 million Sands-Bethworks casino- resort at the site of the defunct Bethlehem Steel Corp. in Bethlehem, Pa.
"I think everybody, to a person, is going to be able to point to Bethlehem and the Bethworks project and say, 'That is indeed why we passed gaming in the state, and that project alone justifies what was done," said Bethlehem Mayor John B. Callahan, who was a proponent of the project as a way to revive his financially struggling city.
In Pittsburgh, PITG Gaming, owned by Detroit businessman and casino operator Don H. Barden, won the rights to build a $455 million casino property, beating out proposals by Forest City Enterprises/Harrah's Station Square and Isle of Capri Casinos Inc. Isle of Capri's proposal was tied to the Pittsburgh Penguins National Hockey League franchise and would have provided funds to build a new arena for the team.
But Barden's proposal will also aid an arena, as well as a commitment to assist a $350 million redevelopment plan in the Lower Hill-with input from the area's stakeholders. PITG will invest $7.5 million a year for the next 30 years toward the cost of a new arena for the city.
"It is a pleasure and an honor to be able to bring the company's rich gaming tradition to Pittsburgh, so this is a very exciting day for me," Barden said. "I'm also excited that this project will allow me to be a part of the Hill district's rebirth."
The Gaming Control Board rejected a proposed casino by Connecticut-based Silver Point Capital LP near the historic Civil War battleground of Gettysburg. The proposal generated significant opposition from preservationists and anti-casino groups, which argued that a casino there would essentially taint the famed landmark.
-Andy Holtmann
