The state Gaming Control Board and its staff just made perfectly clear that it expects Foxwoods, granted a casino license for Philadelphia in December 2006, to push forward at its original location on Columbus Boulevard in South Philly. Foxwoods has flirted with a relocation of the project to Market Street in Center City since last fall but finds itself unable to get that project moving, three months after its one-year deadline to open the casino passed. This all was predicted in yesterday's Daily News.
PGCB Chairman Greg Fajt called any further attempt at re-location a "fool's errand" that would lead to the Foxwoods casino license being revoked.
“I believe if you try to move we would have to take your license back and reopen the bidding process," warned PGCB member Ken McCabe, who expressed concern that the casino investors had tried to move the project. “I expect you to deliver the project that you promised, which is Columbus Boulevard.”
Foxwoods agreed last fall to consider moving at the request of Mayor Nutter and Gov. Rendell, based on concerns about the South Philly site. Brian Ford, CEO of the local investor group, told the board financing is not in place for South Philly but he pledged to return as soon as possible with details about that and how the concept on Columbus Boulevard will be changed. Foxwoods is now pitching an interim casino to start that eventually be the center of a larger facility, similar to the plan now for the SugarHouse casino up the river in Fishtown.
The board's Office of Enforcement Counsel proposed that Foxwoods be required to hit 10 "benchmarks" if the board approves a request from the investors for a two-year extension on its deadline to open the casino. That would include written monthly updates on the project's plans to open by May 2011, a six-month deadline to nail down financing and meetings with South Philly neighborhood groups to mitigate impacts of having a casino nearby.
If those benchmarks are not met, the PGCB staff vows to seek a hearing to revoke the Foxwoods casino license. The board is expected to vote later in the meeting on the Foxwoods request for the two-year extension to get the casino open.
Fred Jacoby, a Foxwoods attorney said the investors have sunk $160 million so far into the project. “Regretfully at the end of the day you’ve got their attention because they have so much time and money committed," Jacoby said.
Anti-gaming protesters from Philadelphia charged up to the railing of the hearing room, chanting "Pull the plug" and "shame" as the board retreated for a brief recess to let the commotion die down. Many of the protesters are from Chinatown, which objected to a Foxwoods plan to open a casino at the nearby former Strawbridge & Clothier department store at 801 Market Street. Those protesters have linked efforts with Casino-Free Philadelphia, which opposes casinos anywhere in the city.
UPDATE, 1:30 pm: The board just voted unanimously to grant the Foxwoods extension. Fajt repeated his warning to Foxwoods on relocation efforts. “We do not want to hear that there are other sites out there that you will look at, either ones you’ve looked in the past or ones you will look at in the future," he said.
Wasn't Terry Gillen there to explain to the Board how they were wrong and this project would be a "slam dunk"? Good job kissing off another year of casino revenue, Nutter Administration!— anodyne- Gambling is crack cocaine of society.— James
- This is very good news for the City's waterfront. We need to get this project moving as soon as possible. I again call on CasinoFree Philadelphia to disclose its source of funding so the public can see if Atlantic City casino interests are providing support. In the spirit of transparency (just look at Citizan's Alliance)the public deserves to know this information.— equalityman
- It's Braveheart time!— pagoda
- I'd like to know who is paying Equality man to promote the interests of a few greedy predators! Come on, be a man. Who's paying YOU, E-man????— NorthernLibertine
- Mayor Nutter and his large highly paid senior staff will likely spend additional taxpayer dollars to fight Foxwoods while at the same time other business are moving out of Philadelphia. I was an eary supporter of Nutter but he has turned out to be an anti-development, anti-business and anti-casino loser.— equalityman
- The RDA holds too much property that it does nothing with. That should be the tip off that RDA head Terri Gillen is not reliable in her ability to get to a delivery date for a finished project most of the time. This is endemic with RDA projects, and if they state wants balanced budget, they should pull the plug on the money they waste on the RDA.— CleanupPhilly
- I agree with Eman; it doesn't take a dissertation to see that a "grass roots" group with an expensive lawyer and an organized full time campaign is getting money from somewhere. It doesn't take a doctoral candidate to see who operates in South Philly -- with the strip clubs on Columbus Blvd., and the illegal slots parlors like Club Noche, which George Anastasia did a video piece on for Philly.com. It's the mob. It's not OC, NJ, it's just OC -- organized crime. Illegal gambling is huge in Philly, and not just for dog fighting. Organized crime is not going to let legal gaming just waltz in here and roll them over, taking a 20% or better cut of their turf.— CleanupPhilly
- This is why I support legal gaming -- it will displace some the forces of illegal slots, betting, dog fighting, numbers, and all the dirty, powerful money that corrupts Philly. It is a powerful blow to clean up Philly, and it will change the game. The state deserves its cut, and needs it more than ever, and just like pension reform, the state will have to shove it down Philly's throat because they will just game the system out as long as they can with all this nonsense like we can move it, oh, we can't, yes we can, yadda yadda.— CleanupPhilly
- Nimby is the crack cocaine of society.— rightwingsheeple
- IF they want financing, they just have to go public. I'd buy some shares of that. Betting on vice in Philly to return? Hello.— CleanupPhilly
- Sell shares. I will bet on vice paying dividends in Philly. It's a recession proof prospect in this town. They'd have their funding in about 2 weeks.— CleanupPhilly
- Who needs Foxwoods anyway? Revoke their license and call in a Vegas hotel.— david wayne
- Have any of you people who support casinos been to Philly Park? It is a convention of Blue-hairs and people with really strange skin conditions. And it is fairly empty. Why on earth would we put that on the waterfront? Have you been to Atlantic City? Have you seen what the neighborhoods there look like? It's time for people in this city to stop thinking so lazily. How about putting things on the Waterfront that people would actually go to? Parks, stores, restaurants, theaters, museums. And this might seem crazy, make it accessible by foot and public transportation! And not be so concerned about parking. The proposal for Sugarhouse is a 10 story parking lot with a 2 story slot parlor in the middle of a massive parking lot. Also, stop blaming the government and anti-casino protestors for the delays. The casinos themselves are just as guilty. They have lost a lot of investors, and are worried about the economy. And they are both waiting to see what happens with Delaware and sports gaming. If legal sports gaming comes to Delaware, you can bet that both casinos are pulling out of Philly and heading down there.— AreaMan
- Philly is the original home of US vices, so legalizing one of Philly's most enduring is going to be a blow for ethics. It will allow ethics reform legislation to continue, likely, that's how much dirty money influences Philly politics. You can't get organized crime out of Philly politics until you dent OC's money base, and I'd rather the state get this money. The arguments that Philly would be decimated by gaming are laughable. No one who knows Philly thinks that Philly is plenty decimated by gambling and vice now, like old San Fran's Barbary Coast. Anything you want, you can get in Philly.— CleanupPhilly
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David Gambacorta spent a small eternity writing about cops, drug dealers and serial killers. Now he’s writing about power and politics – which sometimes reminds him of the old crime beat. He joined the Daily News in 2005. And yes, he knows you’re not quite sure how to pronounce his last name. E-mail tips to gambacd@phillynews.com
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Catherine Lucey joined the Daily News in 2002 and has written about murderous drug gangs, political protesters and Harry Potter. After covering the 2007 mayoral election, she moved over to the City Hall bureau where she has been reporting on the Nutter administration.
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Jan Ransom, a native New Yorker, joined the Daily News in 2010 after graduating from Howard University. She has since written about the difficulty of filing police complaints, tax deadbeats and life after violent home invasions. She joined the Daily News City Hall Bureau in 2011 and has plunged headfirst into reporting on administration budget battles and City Council shenanigans.
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