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In addition, the legislation would waive a ban on placing Philadelphia casinos within 10 miles of existing race-track slots facilities, thus allowing developers to consider more sites near the Philadelphia International Airport.
Currently, any project must be 10 miles from the Harness Racing Track slots parlor in Chester, as well as a similar race-track slots facility at Philadelphia Park in Bensalem.
The developers of Philadelphia's two proposed riverfront casinos are facing stiff public resistance, as well as court challenges to their projects.
The sites were selected in December 2006 by the state's Gaming Control Board with limited public input. The bill would establish a "collaborative, inclusive process" for finding new locations.
"Obviously, the process is flawed, everyone agrees," said State Rep. Mike O'Brien in a phone interview. "These are bad sites from a land-use point of view and they simply don't work."
The SugarHouse casino straddles 22 acres in Fishtown and Northern Liberties, while the Foxwoods facility is proposed for the Pennsport section of South Philadelphia, near big-box stores on congested Columbus Avenue.
O'Brien, whose district includes the SugarHouse site, is sponsoring the bill in the House with State Rep. Bill Keller, a Democrat whose district includes the Foxwoods site. They are joined in the Senate by the primary author of the state's gaming law, State Sen. Vincent Fumo, an outgoing Democrat whose district includes both projects.
Gary Tuma, a spokesman for Fumo, said the gaming bill that was crafted in 2004 was the product of intense negotiations.
Tuma said those talks produced a selection process that gave authority to the Gaming Board to review proposals and pick developers.
"In most of the state that's worked out very well," Tuma said. "It has not in Philadelphia."
Under the legislation, the Gaming Board would still work with the two developers already selected for casinos. The board, however, would hold hearings, take input from licensees, neighborhood civic associations and city and state officials.
Within 180 days of that, the board would either approve a relocation or revoke licensees and re-open the application process.
The proposal would allow for operators to consider sites near the Philadelphia airport by lifting a current prohibition of having casinos less than 10 miles from other slots facilities.
Leigh Whitaker, a spokesperson for SugarHouse, called the bill "another delay tactic."
"If this bill were to pass, this would essentially open up the entire licensing process, subject the Gaming Board to a new series of lawsuits, result in the loss to the Commonwealth and its taxpayers of hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue, and blow a huge hole in the City's five-year plan, which includes gaming revenue in FY 2010," Whitaker said.
"In addition, SugarHouse, who was awarded this license under the original gaming law, would certainly look to recoup all of the money it has spent developing this project," she said. "It is unfair and unwise to change the rules in the middle of the game and ask the operators and the taxpayers to foot the bill."
A spokeswoman for Foxwoods could not be immediately contacted.
The SugarHouse project is currently locked in state court with the city and City Council over the use of riparian lands.
"We could play 'stall ball' for the next five years," O'Brien said. "Eventually, they'll be built. We're trying to take corrective action and learn from the mistakes of the past."
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