The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board has shot down plans for a racetrack casino in Lawrence County.
The board voted 7-0 to deny a gaming license to Endeka Entertainment, which holds a harness racing license for a 250-acre site near New Castle, which the group wanted to develop as Lawrence Downs Casino and Racing Resort with 1,500 slot machines, 38 table games, a harness track and other attractions.
“We fought the good fight, and we tried our best,” said Dan Vogler, chairman of the Lawrence County Commission. “I have respect for the board. They did not take this issue lightly.”
A spokesman for the board declined to comment, saying the details on the vote would be provided at a later date.
But if the questions the board posed to Endeka and its backers were any indication, financing might have been the main issue.
Endeka was trying to secure $205 million from banks to build the facility, but after paying state licensing fees it would only have about $140 million left. The board noted that some competing casinos in the region cost around $500 million to construct, well below the amount Endeka proposed.
The project has had six different groups of backers over the years. Endeka, the most recent, had a partnership with casino giant Penn National Gaming, but it fell apart, reportedly as a result of Penn’s doubts about the viability of the market. Last year, Endeka was purchased by Procacci Local Gaming, owned by Philadelphia businessman Joseph Procacci, and was granted an extension on its license application. Procacci put up a $50 million bond with the application.
“Endeka did work very diligently,” Vogler said. “They did what they were able to do as best they could.”
In other news, the board reported thatgaming revenue from the state’s 12 casinos exceeded $3.2 billion in the 2015-16 fiscal year, a 3.6 percent increase over the previous year and a new annual record.
The industry’s take from slot machines and tables games rose by $122 million over 2014-15 and swamped the record set in 2012-13 by $86 million.Slot revenue of nearly $2.4 billion was up 2.3 percent for the year. Table games revenue of $839 million was up nearly 8 percent.
Seven casinos saw increases in both categories. Only Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course in suburban Harrisburg saw declines in both categories.
The board estimates that combined tax revenue for the year was $1.4 billion, also a record high.
