Philly could profit from casino

Philadelphia City Council has heard more about the possibility of the city becoming a partner in a second casino. 

The partnership between Penn National Gaming and the city of Philadelphia would create a a nonprofit that would give the city two-thirds of the casino’s profits.

During a hearing, Steven Snyder of Penn National assured council members the city would see nothing but cash from the proposal.

“We see the benefits of the Penn proposal as multifaceted,” he said. “The city would receive millions of dollars annually as its beneficial interest accrues those dollars that the projections would produce without investing one dollar of capital.”

Congressman Bob Brady is pushing for the alliance, saying he wants the casino to be built at the site of the old food distribution center in South Philadelphia.

“Should Penn National Gaming move its application to Third and Packer, and win the award, the city stands to reap tens of millions of dollars within months, more than we would expect to realize with any other non-casino use of that property,” Brady said.

The $480 million plan for the casino called Hollywood is just one of six proposals before state regulators who will make the final decision on the second Philadelphia casino.

The first casino, SugarHouse, has been in operation since September 2010.