Casino news source: Pittsburgh Business Times - http://pittsburgh.bizjournals.com
Casino task force put in place
Pittsburgh Business Times - 12:40 PM EDT Thursday, March 29, 2007
by Dan Reynolds
The region's political leaders announced Thursday their formation of a task force to implement gaming in Pittsburgh in as productive a manner as possible.
Pittsburgh is set to get its first casino sometime in 2008, although there is no guarantee that the casino won't open until sometime in 2009.
Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato and Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl announced that they will co-chair the task force, which will also include representation from law enforcement, the corporate sector and regional nonprofits.
Other elected officials appointed to the task force include State Rep. Jake Wheatley, a Democrat from the Hill District, Perrysville Democratic Rep. Don Walko, Brookline Democratic state Sen. Wayne Fontana, and Jim Ferlo, a Democratic state senator from Lawrenceville.
In forming the task force, Onorato and Ravenstahl said they had the cooperation of PITG Gaming LLC, which was awarded the sole right to develop a slots casino by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board in December.
PITG Gaming, which is owned by Detroit businessman Don Barden, has chosen a 17-acre parcel in the Chateau section of Pittsburgh's North Shore for the location of a Majestic Star Casino. The casino is expected to open with 3,000 slot machines and eventually build that number to 5,000.
Private sector players that got a seat on the gaming task force included the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, Equitable Resources and Del Monte Foods, all of which own property adjacent to or in close proximity to the planned casino.
The task force will include four sub-committees that will focus on public safety, transportation, social impacts and property. |
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