SugarHouse gets casino license; hurdles remain
The state Gaming Control Board yesterday issued a license for SugarHouse, a controversial casino project on the banks of the Delaware River in Fishtown.
The state Gaming Control Board yesterday issued a license for SugarHouse, a controversial casino project on the banks of the Delaware River in Fishtown.
The license moves SugarHouse one step closer to opening, but the casino still has a long way to go.
"Today marks another important step in the process of building a world-class gaming and entertainment facility," said Bob Sheldon, president of HSP Gaming LP, the casino's owner.
The city's Department of Licenses & Inspections last week issued a permit, now being reviewed by the Nutter administration, for SugarHouse to clear and grade its 22-acre lot for construction.
But SugarHouse can't dig into the soil just yet, due to concerns from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. Historians and casino opponents say the site should be examined thoroughly for any remnants of a Native-American village and a Revolutionary War-era English fort.
Some neighbors have also called on the state to relocate SugarHouse and Foxwoods, a proposed riverfront casino in South Philly, away from their homes.
Gaming Control Board Chairwoman Mary DiGiacomo Colins yesterday said that SugarHouse's license had been granted specifically for its present location. Only SugarHouse can ask to move to another location and that request would be considered by the board.
A group of state legislators also have asked the state Supreme Court to overturn a decision by the city Commerce Department to grant SugarHouse control of state-owned riparian lands, which make up half of the proposed casino's property.
Colins said that a loss of the riparian rights by SugarHouse would put a hold on the license because the casino's approved plan included that land.
"That basically is contingent on them getting those riparian rights," Colins said.
While the license was good news for SugarHouse yesterday, some of the casino's investors will find some surprise visitors in their neighborhoods today.
Daniel Hunter, of Casino-Free Philadelphia, said activists will knock on the doors in the neighborhoods of investors for SugarHouse and Foxwoods, asking if they'd like to have a casino built near their homes.
"We're going neighbor to neighbor to their doorsteps to talk about the harm they're bringing to the city," Hunter said. *
