April 23 - Pressure is mounting on a Pittsburgh casino developer who wants to
back out on a commitment to pour $3 million into the development of the city's
West Hill district.
The promise was made by Majestic Star Casino owner, Don Barden during the
heats leading up to the bidding process to achieve the rights to build a
Pittsburgh slots parlor. He vowed to invest $1 million per year for a period
of three years to develop West Hill, in return for the right to build the slots
casino.
However, after receiving the license, Barden has now requested from the
state's Gaming Control Board to allow him to back out of the commitment. It is
believed that Barden wants to make changes to his plans for a North Shore slots
parlor.
A meeting will be held between Barden and the mayor, Luke Ravenstahl to see
whether a compromise can be reached over the issue, although Ravenstahl has
stated: "I certainly want to make sure that the commitments he made are lived up
to. I don't want to see significant changes made to the original agreement."
Other politicians are already upping the pressure to get Barden to keep the
promises he made when bidding for the Pittsburgh slot license. "Where I come
from, you make a commitment, you stick to your commitment," said Democratic
state senator, Jay Costa of Forest Hills. "That's what's disappointing here."
Barden has plans to open a casino in 2009 and it is believed that that he
prefers to direct the $3 million in the casino instead, due to rising costs.
Other Articles:
CryptoLogic Rolls out New Slots Offerings - 04-22-08Pennsylvania Slots Program Reaps Rewards - 04-18-08Cryptologic to Release Street Fighter Slots Game - 04-17-08Break da Bank Again Slots Game Awards Giant Jackpot - 04-16-08
|
Y! MyWeb
OnlyWire
Digg
Spurl
Furl
Simpy
Del.icio.us
Google
