Casino firms must pay fees despite delays

SugarHouse and Foxwoods casinos must pay their $50 million license fees even though the city hasn't given them permission to build, the state Gaming Control Board ruled yesterday.

Ruling that the delays faced in building the first casinos in the city should have been anticipated, gaming board chairwoman Mary DiGiacomo Colins said yesterday the companies would have 10 business days to hand over the $50 million each that they had sought to put off pending city approval.

"These are experienced companies that anticipate opposition in a new jurisdiction," Colins said in a telephone interview after the Gaming Control Board meeting in Scranton. "We believe opposition in and of itself did not provide good cause."

Colins said the board was required to collect the money for property tax relief, and also felt it was unfair to other license winners in Pittsburgh and Bethlehem who have paid for their licenses but have also run into delays.

Foxwoods and SugarHouse put a bright face on the decision, saying it showed that the board was committed to their projects.

"We think today's decision reaffirms the gaming board's determination that SugarHouse has the best proposal for a world-class gaming and entertainment venue in Philadelphia," SugarHouse spokeswoman Leigh Whitaker said.

Foxwoods took it a step further. Spokeswoman Maureen Garrity said: "We agree with the board's decision that the taxpayers expect and deserve the money." She said further delay caused by local resistance would leave less money for community projects.

Foxwoods will pay more than $400,000 a month in interest for its $50 million license, she said. Although Foxwoods has committed to giving $1 million annually to offset any negative impact to the community, Garrity said the company had anticipated making other contributions as well.

"There will be less there that we'll be able to give," Garrity said. "It's a loss that's going to felt by the majority of the residents because of a vocal few."

Neighbors of Foxwoods, planned for the Pennsport neighborhood in South Philadelphia, and SugarHouse, in Fishtown, say the sites are too close to housing.

Those opponents' protests shut down the last Gaming Control Board meeting in Philadelphia.

Yesterday, Colins let Casino Free Philadelphia representatives speak, and said she would allow public comment at some - but not all - board meetings in the future.

Casino Free Philadelphia organizer Daniel Hunter said casino opponents were "pretty jazzed" yesterday.

"The internal so-called done deals that were made in order to bring casinos to Pennsylvania are beginning to break down," said Hunter, who has criticized the board for what he called a lack of meaningful public input.

Also yesterday, Louis DeNaples, who is the subject of a grand jury investigation, took another step toward opening his Mount Airy Casino Resort, the Associated Press reported. The board issued several key approvals and praised the casino as an "exciting project" that will result in millions in tax revenues.

The grand jury is believed to be investigating whether DeNaples lied to gaming regulators when he told them he had no connections to organized crime.

DeNaples has denied any such links. Colins declined to comment on the probe yesterday.