Proposed mini-casino at Nittany Mall moves closer to licensing hearings
Pennsylvania gaming regulators issued a ruling Wednesday that could move the board closer to voting on whether to approve a license application for the controversial proposed mini-casino at the Nittany Mall.
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board allowed Stadium Casino — the non-winning bidder — to intervene in the licensing proceedings, but rejected their request for discovery. The vote among the board’s seven members was unanimous.
The ruling means Stadium will have an opportunity to argue whether the board has the authority to consider the licensing application given what it believes are fatal flaws in the application. Verbal argument is limited to 15 minutes, though the company may also file written statements.
It is not know if Stadium — part of a Baltimore-based real estate development and entertainment operating company — plans to challenge the board’s ruling. A message was left with attorney Mark A. Aronchick.
The business has a still-pending lawsuit against the board and the project’s developers. Attorneys argued their case in March at the state Commonwealth Court.
The company argued SC Gaming OpCo owner and former Penn State trustees chairman Ira Lubert’s winning $10 million bid was improperly awarded. Lubert won the bid more than two years ago.
Aronchick argued Lubert violated the board’s rules by partnering with Bally’s and others who would not be eligible to bid on the casino.
“What did Mr. Lubert do here? Who’s coming in, and what do they have and what’s going on?” Aronchick said during the board meeting. “That’s the justice.”
Lubert has denied the allegations. He paid for the bid from his personal bank account and his attorneys wrote in a filing that he is the sole owner.
Attorney Stephen J. Kastenberg told the board that Stadium’s legal challenges amounted to “sour grapes.”
“Stadium is trying to put the cart before the horse and turn this whole world upside down. It is your obligation to decide whether SC Gaming is a suitable and qualified and eligible applicant. That is the entire question that is presented to you,” Kastenberg said. “This is not some unique situation where there is some special role that Stadium should be playing. They are simply a sour grapes competitor raising the kind of issues that the board has seen time and again.”
It is not known when the board may vote on whether to grant the license. No date has been selected, board spokesperson Doug Harbach said.
Supporters of the proposed casino — which would include slot machines, table games, sports betting and a restaurant and bar — point to the economic benefits and the potential revitalization of the Nittany Mall.
Bally’s estimated the project would cost more than $120 million and take a year to complete. The project was projected to create upward of 400 jobs.
Nearly 1,500 have signed an online petition opposing the casino. Critics point to the potential for crime, strain on services, gambling issues for the vulnerable and a community’s well-being.
The gaming control board has so far denied only one mini-casino license — in Beaver County — and that came only after the winning bidder acknowledged they couldn’t finance the project.