Testimony from Live! Casino reps and from a SugarHouse exec seems to indicate that The Sugar House (Philly's existing casino) would have a hard time withstanding any competition at all. Though there's a second casino license on offer for Philly, might the gaming board decide not to award it?
Though Live! Casino reps were only out for the Center City casino proposals' blood, they made a compelling case that adding a second casino close to the SugarHouse would be bad news: "That will put SugarHouse and any downtown facility in financial jeopardy from Day One," he said of building a casino in Center City.
The chairman of The SugarHouse, Neil Buhm, testified that:
Anything near the numbers that the proponents [of a second casino] have used - we're using their numbers - would result in our property not being worth its debt, and that would result in severe financial problems when we have to refinance the debt He also raised the possibility of the gaming board declining to issue a second license.
"Just because we knew that there was likely going to be a second casino when we bid for our license does not mean that you should automatically issue a new license here if it doesn't make economic sense"
· Projections of 2d casino bring dire warning from SugarHouse [The Inquirer]
Loading comments...