Pennsylvania Gaming Board Denies Cordish Petition to Intervene in State College Casino
Posted on: December 14, 2022, 04:31h.
Last updated on: December 14, 2022, 04:40h.
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) denied on Wednesday Cordish Companies’ petition to intervene in the state’s consideration of issuing a Category 4 “mini-casino” license to SC Gaming OpCo, LLC.
SC Gaming was founded in 2020 by Penn State alumnus Ira Lubert. Because Lubert holds a 3% ownership position in Rivers Casino Pittsburgh, the businessman qualified to bid during the PGCB’s Category 4 auction round in September 2020. Lubert emerged as the victor with a winning bid of $10,000,101.
Lubert’s offer outbid a separate scheme submitted by Cordish. Lubert has since partnered with the Bally’s Corporation in proposing a $123 million project, inclusive of the $10 million licensing fee, to transition the former Macy’s department store at the Nittany Mall near Penn State University into a casino with as many 750 slot machines, 30 table games, and a sportsbook.
Cordish has raised legal concerns that Lubert’s winning bid was unjust because he had an agreement in place with Bally’s before the auction. Bally’s was barred from participating in the auction because the company didn’t meet the qualifying criteria of already operating a casino in the commonwealth or being a key owner of a state-licensed casino.
Petition Denied, Time Granted
Cordish believes Lubert violated PGCB auction rules by agreeing ahead of the bidding to lend his Category 4 mini-casino to license to Bally’s should his offer prevail. The Baltimore-based operator of Live!-branded casinos in Maryland and Pennsylvania filed a petition to intervene with the PGCB in July 2021.
Cordish’s attorneys argued that Lubert didn’t apply for the license by himself, which was in violation of the 2017 amendments to the Pennsylvania Gaming Act that authorized the satellite casinos.
“Lubert effectively created an investment vehicle with persons who lack ‘an ownership interest in a slot machine licensee,’ side-stepping the eligibility requirements. What Lubert did violates the Gaming Act and voided SC Gaming’s application, vitiating the Board’s authority to even consider it,” Cordish’s legal team argued in the petition before the PGCB.
A granting of a petition to intervene would have afforded Cordish — operating in Pennsylvania as Stadium Casino, LLC — the same rights, powers, and duties as Lubert and Bally’s in the state’s consideration of the State College casino project. Gaming regulators decided against Cordish’s plea for inclusion.
The discovery requests proposed in the Petition to Intervene by Stadium Casino … are DENIED,” the PGCB order dated December 14 read.
The PGCB ruling wasn’t a total loss for Cordish. The board granted Cordish “intervenor status” and will provide the company with 15 minutes to address the board during SC Gaming’s licensing hearing. That hearing will take place sometime next year.
Legal Battle Could Stall Casino
Cordish’s legal options are certainly not exhausted with the PGCB refusing its petition to intervene. The Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia and Live! Casino Pittsburgh operator can appeal the PGCB ruling to the Commonwealth Court and state Supreme Court.
Those appeals could drag on for years, said attorney Mark Aronchick, who is representing Cordish in the matter.
The purpose of the statute is to ensure that no cannibalization of gaming would occur with new operators,” Aronchick said today during the PGCB meeting regarding the state’s decision to only allow current casinos and their ownership entities and/or individuals to bid on the satellite opportunities.
“There are red flags galore,” Aronchick concluded.
Related News Articles
Source: casino.org
