The plan for a Category 4 mini-casino in College Township near Pennsylvania State University has survived local resident opposition and initial license challenges, and has received approval from local authorities.
However, the casino project, owned by former Penn State trustee Ira Lubert’s SG Gaming LLC, remains mired in the court system.
That’s mainly because Stadium Casino LLC, the licensee owned by Baltimore-based Cordish Companies that runs the Live! casinos in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, keeps filing new challenges in Commonwealth Court.
In the latest dispute, Stadium is challenging the authority of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board to consider SC Gaming’s license application. Stadium has claimed in the past that Lubert violated rules by forming new partnerships after the winning bid that raised questions about his ownership.
In its latest filing, the company claims that the board doesn’t have statutory authority to consider the license application because it restricted information on the bidding, meaning the issue should be decided in court.
Lubert’s attorneys have dismissed the latest challenge as “sour grapes,” and the gaming board filed a response in court noting that its jurisdiction is supported both by state law and former court decisions.
The filings and appeals mean more delays for Lubert’s project, planned for a 94,000-square-foot building that formerly housed a Macy’s anchor store at the Nittany Mall.
