PGCB attorney says Foxwoods should not get more time to save its license

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board’s enforcement arm has recommended the board not grant the Foxwoods Casino team any more time to gather information Foxwoods attorneys say they need to defend the casino license.

The Office of Enforcement Counsel also says the board should deny an earlier Philadelphia Entertainment Development Partners petition asking the board for more time to file a request to operate table games and pay the associated fee.

The OEC filed a complaint seeking the revocation of PEDP’s casino license in April. That was the start of a long process, with both sides seeking documents from the other and the taking of dispositions, a public hearing and potential appeals.

PEDP requested a discovery conference, which was held earlier this month. The PGCB’s office of hearings and appeals ordered on June 18 that the discovery process be completed by July 30. PEDP attorneys responded with an emergency petition on June 22, saying that the set deadline was arbitrary, and it did not give them enough time, especially considering how hard it would be to gather needed evidence during the July 4 holiday weekend and summer, in general. They requested that the gaming board override the hearing officer’s decision, and give PEDP attorneys until Oct. 31 to complete the discovery process, then hold the license hearing sometime in November.

In the June 25 response to PEDP’s June 22 petition, the OEC, the entity which filed the complaint seeking the revocation of the casino’s license, said that the casino team has failed to show good reason for an extension. OEC requested that the board hold a hearing on this issue.

OEC attorneys filed another document on June 22, saying the board should also deny an earlier Foxwoods’ petition asking for an extension to the June 1 deadline to file a request to offer table games and pay the state a $16.5 million table games fee. If the board does not grant an extension, it would cost PEDP – and any other group filing for table games after the deadline – more than $25.7 million.

Construction has not begun on Foxwoods, which PEDP hopes to open at Delaware Avenue and Reed Street in South Philadelphia.
 
-Posted by Kellie Patrick Gates