PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Pennsylvania’s gambling regulators have decided to start accepting applications for the remaining casino license in Philadelphia, opting not to wait any longer for the Legislature to decide whether to open up the bidding statewide.
The 2004 state gambling law calls for two casinos to be located in Philadelphia, one of which is up and running. After the Gaming Control Board revoked the second license for a long-stalled Foxwoods project in 2010, the Legislature had been considering whether to open up the license to applications that would put the casino elsewhere in the state. But legislative movement did not appear to be on the horizon, board chairman William Ryan said Wednesday.
“Since it appears that the General Assembly will not approve such a change in the foreseeable future,” Ryan said in a statement, “the board believes that it is in the best interest of the people of Pennsylvania to proceed with the application process.”
The deadline for submission is Nov. 15, Ryan said, adding that the process may take nine months to a year from the deadline until the board is in a position to consider all the applications.
Philadelphia developer Bart Blatstein is among those who plan to apply for the license and hopes to build a casino and entertainment complex near the former headquarters of Philadelphia’s two largest newspapers. The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News recently moved out of the iconic tower, which Blatstein now owns.
“We’re very much pursuing the opportunity to win the bidding for that second license,” Blatstein said in an interview.
Earlier this year, Blatstein said he hoped to build a 200-room hotel in the newspaper building, with a casino located to the west of it, along with theaters, shopping and other amenities.
It wasn’t immediately clear how many other bidders there would be for the license, but competition was fierce the last time around.
A winning applicant must pay a $50 million, one-time fee that allows it to operate up to 5,000 slot machines; a certificate that permits up to 250 table games is an additional $16.5 million. Ryan said the board will hold a hearing in Philadelphia to listen to supporters and proponents of each application it receives.
Mayor Michael Nutter praised the gaming board for “doing what I’ve been calling for” and said a second casino would be an economic boon for the city, bringing additional jobs and revenue. Sugarhouse Casino is operating in Philadelphia and has been a financial success, so far. Last year, Nutter said, it generated more than $6 million for the city and its cash-strapped school district.
The gambling board revoked the second Philadelphia license from the Foxwoods group in December 2010 after that project never got off the ground, and that license has languished.
Last month, state Sen. Jane Earll, R-Erie, chair of the Community, Economic and Recreational Development committee, said legislators had not reached a consensus on what to do with the open Philadelphia license. Some wanted to keep it in Philadelphia, while others wanted to bid it statewide or kill it altogether, she said.
Pennsylvania, which legalized casino gambling in 2004, currently has 11 casinos. Four are in the Philadelphia region: Sugarhouse in the city, Parx Casino in the northern suburbs, Harrah’s Philadelphia in the southern suburb of Chester and Valley Forge Casino Resort to the west.
