In a somewhat expected move, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board chose the Live! Hotel and Casino proposal for Philly's second casino license. The proposed $425M project in South Philadelphia would look to bank off of the 8M visitors to the Stadium District each year and become a sister project to the nearby Xfinity Live! complex, creating a walkable entertainment corridor in the area. This was the initial decision in the approval process and the other three applicants have 30 days to appeal the decision. So yeah, this probably isn't done and dusted:
Reminder: This isn't a done deal. The losing bidders get 30 days to appeal. And neighborhood opposition is sure to arise.
— Tricia L. Nadolny (@TriciaNadolny) November 18, 2014
The Inquirer has the word on the funding for the project:
"Slightly more than half of the $425 million needed to build Live! is supposed to come from equity provided by Cordish Cos. and Greenwood Gaming & Entertainment Inc., which is backed by Watche "Bob" Manoukian, an ethnic Armenian, who already owns 85.84 percent of Parx."
Cordish Cos. are the owners/operators of Xfinity Live! and Greenwood Gaming owns Parx Casino in Bensalem, about 20 minutes northeast of Philadelphia. The site, which is currently a Holiday Inn and adjacent to the Turf Club, is expected to become a 200,000 square-foot casino with 2,000 slot machines and 125 tables games. A 220 room hotel is also planned for the complex.
We ran a poll last week when The Inquirer reported that the frontrunner was the Live! proposal. While Live! won out, the results were mixed to say the least.
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