Citing delays, casinos balk at fees
TWO PROPOSED city casinos argued yesterday that they should not have to put up $50 million for state gaming licenses because of delays they blame on City Council and anti-gaming activists.
TWO PROPOSED city casinos argued yesterday that they should not have to put up $50 million for state gaming licenses because of delays they blame on City Council and anti-gaming activists.
SugarHouse in Fishtown and Foxwoods in South Philly submitted written arguments to the state Gaming Control Board in advance of a hearing next week.
Their $50 million license fees were due on July 27 but the board last month agreed to give the casinos a month to explain why the payments should be delayed.
SugarHouse and Foxwoods listed a long recent history of legal maneuvering by City Council and neighborhood groups angry about the locations of the two Delaware riverfront casinos.
Many of those tactics have been knocked aside by the state Supreme Court. But the casinos still face a City Council that has not voted on zoning legislation needed to start construction; proposed legislation in the state General Assembly that would prohibit casinos within 1,500 feet of homes, schools, churches and other public places; and ongoing political pressure to pick new locations.
SugarHouse wrote that "local anti-casino activists, both within government and without, have devised a myriad of initiatives . . . to inflict maximum financial harm" on the two proposed casinos.
SugarHouse said it has spent more than $12 million on legal fees and other expenses to defend its license and obtain city approval to build its casino.
SugarHouse said its debt service would be $417,000 per month for the $50 million fee.
Foxwoods, which did not list a running tally on expenses, said the debt service on its $50 million fee would also be about $400,000 per month while it waits to start construction.
"Foxwoods cannot control the decisions that City Council will make or the speed with which City Council will act," wrote developers of the proposed casino, who have asked the state Supreme Court to order the city to issue building permits.
The Gaming Control Board will consider the arguments in a Sept. 6 public hearing in Harrisburg. *