Foxwoods submits data to avert losing casino license

The Foxwoods Casino investor group has given state regulators a stack of petitions and documents to bolster its case for keeping its slots license when the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board takes up the matter Thursday.

The seven commissioners are expected to consider at their regular meeting a motion to revoke the license.

In November, the board ordered the Foxwoods group - Philadelphia Entertainment & Development Partners - to produce evidence that it could finance and build a casino with a new partner, Harrah's Entertainment.

Doug Harbach, a gaming board spokesman, said the documents that were received by last Friday's deadline included a petition to change the ownership structure, a request for more time to open a slots parlor, and a petition to approve modifications to the project design.

Also among the documents were at least 22 exhibits, including loan information, partnership agreements, a management agreement, and various debt and finance-related documents.

The gaming board's enforcement staff now must pore over the materials in order to make a recommendation on revocation to the board.

Whether that can be accomplished by Thursday's 9 a.m. hearing remains to be seen.

"I cannot speculate on what the board will do," Harbach said. "It will, however, consider the motion on the floor."

The deal with Las Vegas-based Harrah's Entertainment - which last month changed its name to Caesars Entertainment - marks the third attempt by the Foxwoods group to launch a casino on South Columbus Boulevard in South Philadelphia.

The original partner, the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe of Connecticut, fell on hard times during the recession and was unable to get financing for the project. In April, Las Vegas gaming mogul Steve Wynn abruptly dropped out of a deal.

To build a gaming hall, Foxwoods and Caesars must raise $75 million in equity and $200 million in debt. According to sources, two private-equity firms with large stakes in Caesars - Apollo Management and TPG Capital - have agreed to cover most of the debt portion of the deal.

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