Gambling News by Gambling Headquarters

Pennsylvania gambling regulators are hearing testimony from a Detroit casino operator and two other bidders for a slot-machine casino license in Pittsburgh, just one month before it could be awarded. The hearings started Monday with presentations from two of the bidders. Testimony was scheduled Tuesday for Detroit-based casino operator Don H. Barden. His proposal calls for a $460 million slots parlor near Pittsburgh's sports stadiums and a $350 million redevelopment of the city's Hill District. The hearings were the last chance for the applicants to make their case to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, which expects to award the license Dec. 20. Cleveland real estate developer Forest City Enterprises and the nation's largest casino operator, Harrah's Entertainment Inc., have joined together in an application for a $1 billion development anchored by a casino next to Station Square, an entertainment and shopping complex on the city's South Side. The other applicant that presented testimony Monday was Isle of Capri Casinos Inc., which has offered to build a $290 million hockey arena for the Pittsburgh Penguins if it gets the license as part of a $1 billion development in Pittsburgh's Uptown neighborhood. Barden and Forest City have agreed to contribute some money to a new hockey arena but have not committed to subsidizing the entire project.