Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Pennsylvania gambling regulators are hearing testimony from a Detroit casino
operator and two other bidders for a slot-machine casino license in
Pittsburgh, just one month before it could be awarded. The hearings started
Monday with presentations from two of the bidders. Testimony was scheduled
Tuesday for Detroit-based casino operator Don H. Barden. His proposal calls
for a $460 million slots parlor near Pittsburgh's sports stadiums and a $350
million redevelopment of the city's Hill District. The hearings were the
last chance for the applicants to make their case to the Pennsylvania Gaming
Control Board, which expects to award the license Dec. 20. Cleveland real
estate developer Forest City Enterprises and the nation's largest casino
operator, Harrah's Entertainment Inc., have joined together in an
application for a $1 billion development anchored by a casino next to
Station Square, an entertainment and shopping complex on the city's South
Side. The other applicant that presented testimony Monday was Isle of Capri
Casinos Inc., which has offered to build a $290 million hockey arena for the
Pittsburgh Penguins if it gets the license as part of a $1 billion
development in Pittsburgh's Uptown neighborhood. Barden and Forest City have
agreed to contribute some money to a new hockey arena but have not committed
to subsidizing the entire project.