Split Rock Resort said it was pulling its application for a $5 million license after deciding on prudence in the current downturn, especially because 500 slot machines would not add much to the bottom line.

"The financial situation of the world right now is not very good and . . . we felt more comfortable backing out than we did moving forward," said Chuck Dickinson, the director of special projects for Vacation Charters Ltd., which owns the Lake Harmony resort.

One worry was whether Split Rock would be able to get loans to build a $20 million-plus slots parlor, Dickinson said.

A Pocono Mountains competitor in the three-way field for the two 500-machine licenses had no such reservations. A slots parlor will add value to the increasingly penny-conscious vacationers who visit Fernwood Hotel & Resort in Bushkill, said Gina Bertucci, the resort's vice president of marketing and one of its owners.

"They are still going on vacation, but are looking for ways to maximize their dollars," Bertucci said. She said that she was not sure of the project's price tag - costs have risen since the group applied last year - but that the Bushkill Group Inc., which owns Fernwood, had a good relationship with its lenders.

Wagering increased 6 percent at the five Pennsylvania facilities that were open in September 2007.

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board plans to hold public suitability hearings Oct. 22 to 23 to consider the applications of Fernwood and the Valley Forge Convention Center.

The last of Pennsylvania's 12 licenses that allow up to 5,000 machines is in limbo because the sole applicant, Indianapolis-based Centaur Inc., cannot get a loan to build its $450 million casino and racetrack in Lawrence County, 55 miles northwest of Pittsburgh.