Pa lawmakers losing patience with delayed casino project

    A bid to give the Foxwoods casino project more time to get up and running has fizzled. Now several Philadelphia lawmakers say the state should tell Foxwoods its time is up.

    A bid to give the Foxwoods casino project more time to get up and running has fizzled. Now several Philadelphia lawmakers say the state should tell Foxwoods its time is up.

    The planned south Philadelphia slots parlor has run into delays, financial difficulties and neighborhood opposition.

    Last September, the Gaming Control Board gave Foxwoods six months to submit a new financing plan for its riverfront casino. This week, a proposal to extend Foxwoods’ deadline disappeared from a table games bill – shortly after it was made public. No one in Harrisburg seems to want to take credit for the extension.

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    Now Philadelphia State Representative Mike O’Brien says he doesn’t think the project is viable.

    O’Brien: If these facilities can not generate revenue than it is time to pull the license and start again.

    Local State Senator Larry Farnese agrees.

    Farnese: They should shut the door on this and we should move forward. And the city of Philadelphia should move forward on this. I think its a bad idea to try and give them additional time. Because they’ve never convinced anybody and they’ve never done anything to prove they can do what they say they’re gonna do.

    The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, an investor in the project, recently defaulted on debt on related to the Foxwoods Resorts Casino in Connecticut.

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