Nemacolin Woodlands Resort, in Farmington, Pa., is considering whether to apply again for a slots casino license, now that state regulators have relaxed some requirements and re-opened the application process.
“We’re aware of the situation. It’s been kicked around,” said Nemacolin spokesman Jeff Nobers in an article in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “I wouldn’t say anything is imminent.”
The state Gaming Control Board on April 8 awarded one of two resort casino licenses, giving approval to Valley Forge Convention Center to open a 500-slot machine casino in King of Prussia.
The only other applicant, Fernwood Hotel & Resort in the Poconos, still is trying to cobble together funding for its proposal, which led the gaming board to reopen the application process for 90 days.
Nemacolin passed the board’s background investigation in 2006, but withdrew its application in November that year. Officials at the 335-room resort couldn’t persuade regulators to relax rules on who would be allowed to play at the casino.
Among the hang-ups was the board’s requirement that patrons spend at least $25 at the resort before being allowed into the casino. The goal was to make the slot machines an amenity at the resorts, rather than the main draw. Resort-casino licenses cost $5 million—one-tenth the price of licenses at larger casinos, which can have as many as 5,000 machines.
About a year after Nemacolin withdrew, the gaming board reduced the $25 fee to $10 and further relaxed requirements so that resort-goers could visit the casino within 72 hours of spending the money, rather than 24 hours.
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