Developers vying for Pittsburgh slots parlor

Jennifer C. Yates

Friday, July 9, 2004 | 8:54 a.m.

PITTSBURGH -- Several groups are vying for an opportunity to build slots parlors in the Steel City, with proposals ranging from a new horse racing track and entertainment complex outside downtown to a new development near the city's sports stadiums.

A yet-to-be-formed state gambling commission will have the final say on who gets licenses, which could cost up to $50 million each. But developers with an interest in the area are making their positions known.

"This is going to be a yearlong beauty contest," said Merrill Stabile, president of Alco Parking Corp., which is currently negotiating with local and national partners for a proposed gambling complex on the North Shore. A slots parlor would be an ideal neighbor to the Steelers' and Pirates' stadiums, making the North Shore an entertainment destination, Stabile said.

On Monday, Gov. Ed Rendell signed laws authorizing 61,000 slot machines in Pennsylvania and using most of the state's share to pay for a $1 billion cut in property taxes a year.

Under the new law, seven licenses would be granted to horse racing tracks, including ones not yet built. Five licenses would be given to standalone sites, including one in Pittsburgh, and two licenses would be given to resorts.

Other suitors include developer C.J. Betters, whose interest garnered headlines when Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jerome Bettis disclosed that he was a limited partner on the project. Betters, who didn't immediately return a call for comment Thursday, has proposed building a horse track, homes, shops, restaurants and casino in Hays.

Betters has been eyeing casino development for years, with past plans including a 1994 deal with Donald Trump that fell through when lawmakers didn't approve an expansion of gambling.

Las Vegas-based Harrah's Entertainment Inc. may also pursue a slots parlor at Station Square, an area of shops and restaurants along the Monongahela River. Even though Harrah's sold the development to Cleveland-based Forest City Enterprises Inc. in 1998, the gambling company retained rights through 2007 to build a casino there.

Company officials said they are still working on a plan.

"Because it's so early in the process, we're still ironing out details of the proposed Station Square development project and waiting to see what type of licensing application process will be implemented," Harrah's spokesman Gary Thompson said.

The members of No Dice, a Pittsburgh-based anti-casino group, said it plans to support and encourage local opposition to any plans to locate casinos in the city.

"There will undoubtedly be continued opposition in various forms," said Bruce Barron, vice president of the group that was formed about 10 years ago in response to a proposed floating casino near the South Side. "Getting a bill passed is one thing, getting a casino located and supported in a specific venue is quite another."