Smarty Jones" former hometown of Philadelphia Park plans to spend $150 million to set up a temporary slot shop that will open about 10 months after receiving conditional authorization earlier this summer.
Bensalem racetrack could be the first place to offer slot gambling in the area.
Under a gaming bill signed by Gov. Rendell at a Philadelphia park on July 5, racetracks and three others are eligible for 18-month conditional licenses. Three tracks under development are also eligible to apply for licenses.
Under the conditional license, the track can be operated as a "raceino" until permanent licenses are issued to 14 facilities across the state, including two game venues in Philadelphia and one planned for Chester.
Robert Green, president of Greenwood Racing, the company that owns Philadelphia Park, said that the current racetrack building on Street Road may have a temporary lounge. But he is also considering a new temporary facility.
The temporary break means the park is returning to its original plan. In April 2003, the park received submission and approval from the town to build a temporary structure. However, after slowing slot momentum in Harrisburg, park officials said they would instead focus on a 250,000-square-foot permanent complex.
"It will be a reduced version of our permanent structure," Green said of the new plan. "Our business is always to provide first-class facilities."
The first phase of the track"s permanent facility will take until completion sometime in 2007 and cost about $300 million, Green said. The phase of the multi-story complex will include about 500 rooms as the first part of luxury hotels, retail stores, restaurants, spas, and entertainment venues.
Green declined to say which hotels or restaurant companies he is dealing with, citing confidentiality agreements. Some restaurants will operate in-house, he said.
But the issuance of conditional licenses by early summer will be acted quickly by the Pennsylvania Game Control Board, which met for the first time last month and held its second meeting on Tuesday.
At that meeting, the board, led by Philadelphia attorney Thomas A. "Tad" Decker, voted to hire two lawyers - an employee lawyer and a special adviser to the board - and said it would begin considering regulations and slot permit applications in the next month or so.
"The board doesn"t want to speculate on any time zone at this point," said Nick Hayes, a spokesperson for Decker. "Right now they"re focused on developing the best regulatory framework for Pennsylvania."
State Senator Robert "Tommy" Tomlinson (R, Bucks), who helped draft the slot bill, said he believed Green would not be too far on the schedule, even though the gambling bill calls for a "completely new bureaucracy."
"He"s probably up close," Tomlinson said. The State Gaming Commission "is moving in a very good order ... they"re working hard and bringing the organization together."
Since Philadelphia Park and other tracks have already been licensed by the state racing board, Green said he believes tracks will have little trouble qualifying for conditional and later permanent licenses.
However, he said raising money for the project and deciding when and how much to invest are still big concerns. In addition to construction costs, the track would have to pay $50 million for a license. Green expects to spend $40 million to $50 million more on slot machines.
"The question is, to what extent do you spend your money on a complete panorama of development? How much money do you spend on bricks and mortar in the early stages?" Green said
Philadelphia Park has not announced any partnership with potential slot license holders or with big-money casino companies that are making inroads in the region on their own.
For example, some of Philadelphia Park"s competitors could come from Caesars Entertainment Inc., which operates casinos in Atlantic City and Las Vegas. The company paid $64.7 million this month for properties along the Delaware River in Philadelphia. The city will build two "standalone" buildings.
In Chester, Harrah"s Entertainment Inc. is joining Chester Downs & Marina LLC to build a "Racino." Construction is expected to begin in April with live racing, which begins a year later. Harrah"s officials said they do not plan to open a temporary facility, but they expect a permanent slot stall to be ready a few months after racing begins.
Philadelphia Park has received inquiries from major casino companies that see the Pennsylvania slot as a "major growth opportunity," but the track plans to go solo for now, Green said.
Supporters say the full operation of more than 60,000 slot machines will generate thousands of jobs and $3 billion in total annual revenue.