11/28/2006
Pa. resort drops plans for slots casino
By DAN NEPHIN, Associated Press Writer , The Associated Press
A second resort in southwestern Pennsylvania has pulled its application for a slot-machine gambling license, the third slots applicant to drop its plans in the past two months.
The withdrawal of Nemacolin Woodlands Resort on Tuesday from Pennsylvania's slots derby leaves no applicant left for the two slots licenses set aside for established resorts. It also means that the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board will be able to issue just 11 of the state's 14 total slots licenses when it meets to vote on the applicants Dec. 20.
Nemacolin said it withdrew its application for up to 500 slot machines at a Wild West-themed slots casino because gaming board officials insisted that the resort's patrons would have to spend $25 on nongaming purchases each visit before playing the slot machines.
Nemacolin, about 50 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, had sought to have the $25 requirement be based on a patron's annual spending, not per visit, resort officials said.
"We have looked at the projections and numbers over and over again and have concluded that with the per-visit requirement, the casino is not a viable business operation," said Maggie Hardy Magerko, Nemacolin's owner and president of the resort.
A gaming board spokesman did not immediately return a message seeking comment Tuesday.
Seven Springs Mountain Resort withdrew its application for a slots license last month because of Major League Baseball's prohibition against having a gambling interest. The Nutting family, which purchased Seven Springs Mountain Resort over the summer, is a part-owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Boyd Gaming Corp. gave up its bid for a gambling hall in suburban Philadelphia in late September because local leaders opposed it.
A tony, 3,000-acre hilltop resort in the Laurel Highlands, Nemacolin wanted to blend gambling into its eclectic menu of entertainment offerings, from clay pigeon shooting to off-road driving in rented Hummers.
The casino would have been built on the site of a former outdoor goods store and was to feature an old-fashioned saloon and staff in period Western-style costumes.
So far, six horse-racing tracks have received temporary slots licenses while 13 other groups are competing for seven licenses for standalone slots parlors. A 14th slots license is set aside for another racetrack, but there is no racetrack to apply for it. |
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