Earlier this year the Mayor of Philadelphia, John F Street, set up the Gaming Advisory Task Force to make recommendations on all aspects of the introduction of the gaming industry to the city stating, “For gaming to work, it must be done right.” Yesterday the Task Force delivered its interim report on the suitability of 11 proposed sites for the two slot machine parlours approved for the city of Philadelphia.

Pennsylvania state law gives the State Gaming Control Board the decision-making powers but the Task Force was set up to give local stakeholders a voice in determining how gaming is integrated into the social and economic fabric of the city. According to the Task Force report, three of the eleven proposed sites were unsuitable owing to the traffic problems they would create. The report went on to suggest that the two sites be in different areas to afford maximum profitability. Next month the Task Force will make its final report with conclusions and recommendations.

The Delaware River waterfront and a busy intersection are considered as having the most potential for visitor numbers at the two slots parlours that are expected to bring Philadelphia up to $30 million annually in taxes and 1,500 jobs in the gaming industry. In June this year the Pennsylvania Supreme Court dismissed a legal challenge to the state law of July 2004, legalizing 14 slot machine venues in the state, but returned the zoning issue to the control of local municipalities.

The two suggested sites in the interim report would draw on different client bases. The waterfront would be expected to attract tourists and players from New Jersey, while the intersection would attract people from Philadelphia and its suburbs. The Naval Yard location was placed last for profitability, as it would be close to the proposed Chester horse track and slots development in Delaware County. Both Harrah’s Entertainment and Ameristar Casinos own or have an option on sites on the waterfront. Trump has expressed interest in the former Budd Co. location, which is away from hotels and tourist attractions but would regenerate the old industrial site.

The legal challenges facing the development of slot machine gaming in Pennsylvania are not yet over. Draft legislation has been introduced that would return zoning to the Gaming Control Board and the State Governor is known to support the bill in order to not delay state gambling tax revenue. Further changes to the laws governing slot machines may be inevitable and Pennsylvania may yet wait a while before hearing the first musical sound of slot machine revenues. (E-08.17.05)

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