State Sets Date to Decide Philly’s Second Casino
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board has set November 18th for a vote on whether Philadelphia will get a second casino — and if so, which proposed project will carry the day. The vote comes nearly a year after the board took testimony on the proposals in January.
The announcement came more than a week after Mayor Nutter urged the board to finally make a decision.
Four applicants are being considered for a license that would allow up to 5,000 slot machines and 250 table games on site. The applicants are:
• Tower Entertainment, LLC (The Provence) at 400 North Broad Street
• Market East Associates, LP (Market 8 Casino) at 8th and Market Street
• PHL Local Gaming, LLC (Casino Revolution) at 3333 South Front Street
• Stadium Casino, LLC (Live! Hotel and Casino) at 900 Packer Avenue
There is, of course, opposition to a second casino in town — not least from Philadelphia’s first casino, SugarHouse, which says, that the implosion of gambling in nearby Atlantic City, along with the decline of slots in Pennsylvania, is a signal the market is saturated.
“If this second license is issued, it’s bad for everybody. It’s bad for us, it’s bad for our vendors, it’s bad for our employees and it’s bad for most of our competitors,” Wendy Hamilton, general manager of SugarHouse, told NBC 10 on Friday.
SugarHouse recently opened a temporary 24-table poker room, part of a $164 million expansion of its facility.
The Nov. 18 meeting is open to the public, but will also be streamed live from the board’s web site, www.gamingcontrolboard.pa.gov. It begins at 1:00 p.m. in Room 201 of the Convention Center, 1101 Arch Street.
[Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board / NBC 10]
