State to grant casino licenses

The ideas are in, and now it is time for city officials to decide who will get to bring gambling to Philadelphia.

Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board officials are currently selecting which proposals will receive licenses. Of the seven proposals submitted for Philadelphia sites, only two will be green-lighted. City casinos will only feature slot machines, unlike casinos in other areas of the state.

License applications were due Dec. 31 and required $50 million in contingency.

Wharton professor Bernard Anderson chaired the Economic Impact Committee of the Philadelphia Gaming Advisory Taskforce, which submitted a report to the mayor evaluating casinos' potential effect on the city, both economically and socially. He said the state gaming board will grant licenses late this year.

The Economic Impact Committee estimated that the combined gross revenue of the two casinos would total $765 million. The state will collect 54 percent of that money in taxes. Anderson said some tax funds will go to Philadelphia. The city will also receive a "host fee" of $4 million for allowing casinos to operate within the city limits.

In addition to tax revenue, Philadelphia would accrue sizeable funds through more indirect means. Building just one casino would cost about $250 million, which includes wages for construction jobs. Anderson said the two casinos could generate 3,000-4,000 jobs solely through their operation.

"There would be other jobs associated with amenities surrounding the casinos," he said. "It would be the anchor for further development in the area. So there will be other restaurants that want to locate near there. There will be bars that would come in."

Anderson added that the selection process will be particularly meticulous.

"The state gaming board in Pennsylvania is applying a far more rigid set of standards than have been applied in any other state for the award of licenses to operate the casinos," he said.

Officials are "going to be looking at every conceivable characteristic of operation of the applicants: who they are, what their financial status is, what type of business practices they've engaged in in the past," Anderson said.

Applicants must meet standards in a variety of areas, he added. Criteria include having a broad, representative and diverse group of investors, tax payment capabilities and the participation of minorities and women in business operation.

Wharton School graduate Donald Trump's company Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc. joined with former Philadelphia 76ers president Pat Croce in submitting a proposal.

Croce is "associated with Trump; he has a small investment with Trump," Anderson said. "He will probably be the face of the casino in Philadelphia if they win that license."

In a statement released with the committee's final report, Mayor John Street said the social division of the committee examined the effect of casinos on quality of life, "not only in the communities where facilities are located, but as it relates to the City's ability to deliver services necessary to improve the quality of life for youth and families."

Anderson said concerns that gambling would alter the character of the city are "hogwash." According to the Committee's report, 44 percent and 16 percent of polled Philadelphians believe casinos will have no effect and improve the city's quality of life, respectively.

College freshman Sam Eisner, who has lived in Philadelphia all his life, said the casinos will help the city overall.

"It will bring people in maybe who don't want to go all the way to Atlantic City," he said. "It's a small step, though."

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