How the casino bidding process works, and who decides

The groups' applications were posted to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board's website after they were submitted. Those proposals can be accessed on the board's website and include documents, videos and impact studies.

Applicants presented their proposals at a public forum in February at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia. Additional public hearings were held in April and May at Lincoln Financial Field.

Teams of investigators from the Gaming Control Board have been poring over the applications since spring in a process that was expected to take months. "They look at everything," said Doug Harbach, a board spokesman. "From the individuals and principals, any character issues. Obviously, all of their finances. All of the corporate entities involved. [...] The financial wherewithal for these projects."

The investigation needs to proceed further before dates for any additional hearings or decisions can be scheduled, Harbach said.

Suitability hearings: The board will first determine which applicants are suitable to hold a casino license, Harbach said. The winning proposal will then be chosen from those deemed fit to hold licenses. Another round of hearings before the board will take place sometime later this year, though no timetable has been set. At those hearings, Harbach said, applicants will make more presentations to the board, whose members "will have the opportunity to ask pointed questions about the projects, about information received through the investigative process."

Finally, the board will vote on the projects. Officials had hoped for a decision by the end of the year, but the winning bidder may not be selected until 2014, Harbach said.

After that, work can get started on the selected project. The winning group, however, isn't required to exactly follow the proposal it submitted to the Gaming Control Board, so the resulting casino could end up significantly different from the approved plan. Straying too far from the proposal can backfire, however: In December 2010, the board revoked the casino license granted in 2006 to Foxwoods, after the principals made repeated, major changes and the project became significantly delayed.

Gregory Fajt was appointed to the board by state Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa in August 2011, and previously served two years as the board's chairman. The former chief of staff to then-Gov. Ed Rendell has also served as a Democratic state representative from Allegheny County.

Keith McCall was appointed to the board by state Rep. Frank Dermody in February 2011. McCall, who lives in Carbon County, was a Democratic state representative for 28 years and was the Speaker of the state House in 2009-2010.

John McNally III was appointed to the board by Rep. Sam Smith, the speaker of the state House, in February 2013. He is a partner in the Harrisburg law firm Thomas, Thomas, and Hafer, and served two terms as secretary of the Republican Party of Pennsylvania.

Anthony Moscato was appointed to the board by state Senate President Pro Tempore Joseph Scarnati in February 2011. He lives in Cameron County, where was the county commissioner for 16 years. Prior to being tapped for the board, he was special assistant to the lieutenant governor and outreach coordinator for Keystone Rural Health Consortia, Inc.

William Ryan, the board's chairman, was appointed by Gov. Tom Corbett in August 2011. He previously worked in the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General, including a term as the acting attorney general. He was elected as Delaware County's district attorney in 1987 and served in that role until 1995. Ryan, who graduated from St. Joseph's University and Villanova Law School and lives in Bryn Mawr, is the only board member who will vote on the casino license who resides in the Philadelphia region.

Annmarie Kaiser was appointed to the board by Corbett in August 2012, after working as the governor's secretary of legislative affairs. Kaiser, the only woman on the board, was the executive director of the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association for eight years.

James Ginty, a Philadelphia resident, will not vote on the license because his second three-year term on the board ends this summer. Harbach said a new gubernatorial appointee would "have access to all of the evidence, all of the public input" and be able to "get up to speed" before the vote. Ginty was appointed to the board by former Gov. Ed Rendell. He is a board member and previous chairman of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce.