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The Bensalem racetrack could become the first location in this region to offer slots gambling.

Under the gaming bill Gov. Rendell signed at Philadelphia Park on July 5, the racetrack and three others are eligible for 18-month conditional licenses. Three tracks in development could also apply for licenses.

With the conditional licenses, the tracks could operate as "racinos" until permanent licenses are issued to 14 facilities across the state, including two gaming parlors in Philadelphia and a track planned in Chester.

Robert Green, chairman of Greenwood Racing, the company that owns Philadelphia Park, said a temporary parlor could be housed in the current racetrack building on Street Road. But he is also considering a new, temporary facility.

A temporary parlor would mean the park is reverting to its initial plans. In April 2003, the park submitted and received approval from the township to erect a temporary structure. But after the slots momentum slowed in Harrisburg, park officials said they would instead concentrate on a permanent, 250,000-square-foot complex.

"It would be a scaled-back version of our permanent structure," Green said of the new plans. "Our business is to always provide a first-class facility."

The first phase of the track's permanent facility would take until sometime in 2007 to complete and cost about $300 million, Green said. That phase of a multistory complex would include about 500 guest rooms as the first installment of an upscale hotel, retail shops, restaurants, a spa and entertainment venues.

Citing confidentiality agreements, Green declined to say which hotel or restaurant companies he was dealing with. Some restaurants, he said, would be operated in-house.

The issuance of conditional licenses by early summer, however, would take quick action by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, which met for the first time last month and had its second meeting Tuesday.

At that meeting, the board, headed by Philadelphia lawyer Thomas A. "Tad" Decker, voted to hire two lawyers - a staff attorney and a special assistant to the board - and said in the next month or so it would begin considering regulations and a slots licensing application form.

"The board doesn't want to speculate on any time frame at this point," said Nick Hays, a spokesman for Decker. "Right now they are focused on developing the best regulatory framework for Pennsylvania."
State Sen. Robert "Tommy" Tomlinson (R., Bucks), who helped draft the slots legislation, said he believes that Green might not be far off in his timeline, even though the gambling legislation calls for setting up a "whole new bureaucracy."

"He's probably close," Tomlinson said. The state gaming board "is moving in pretty good order... . They are working hard and getting the organization together."

Because Philadelphia Park and other tracks are already licensed by the state racing commission, Green said he believes that tracks will have little trouble qualifying for conditional and, later, permanent licenses.
But he said lining up financing for the project, and deciding how much to invest when, are still large concerns. In addition to any construction costs, tracks must pay $50 million for a license. Green anticipates spending $40 million to $50 million more on slot machines.

"The question is," Green said, "to what extent do you spend money on the full panoply of development? How much do you spend on bricks and mortar in the early stages?"

Philadelphia Park has not announced any partnerships with big-money casino companies that are joining with potential slots license-holders or pushing into the territory on their own.

For example, some of Philadelphia Park's competition could come from Caesars Entertainment Inc., the operator of casinos in Atlantic City and Las Vegas. The company paid $64.7 million this month for property along the Delaware River in Philadelphia. The city is slated for two "stand-alone" slots parlors.

In Chester, Harrah's Entertainment Inc. is joining with Chester Downs & Marina LLC to build a "racino." Construction is expected to begin in April with live racing starting a year later. Officials at Harrah's said there are no plans to open a temporary facility, but they anticipate a permanent slots parlor to be ready a few months after racing begins.

Philadelphia Park, Green said, has received inquiries from the major casino companies that view Pennsylvania slots as a "major growth opportunity," but the track plans to go it alone for now.
Supporters say once the more than 60,000 slot machines are fully operational, they will generate thousands of jobs and $3 billion per year in gross revenue.

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