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Conditional license sought for new track
Valley View officials would like a decision on slot machines this week.
HILLSVILLE, Pa. — Today’s hearing before the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board is an effort by Valley View Downs and its developer, Centaur LLC, to obtain a conditional license in order to secure its financing for the $425 million racino.
The facility would be located near the intersection of U.S. Route 422 and Pa. Route 551 in Mahoning Township.
Valley View Downs has applied for a Category I license to operate 3,000 slot machines at the track for which a harness racing license already has been approved.
But as officials from Valley View testified at a hearing here in May and repeated in petitions filed with the gaming board, they are concerned about losing their financing if a decision on the license is not made this week.
The filings state there is no prospect of obtaining alternative financing “on the same, or possibly any, terms.”
They pointed out that credit markets have faltered since the original financing package was put together and said the lenders want to see a conditional license obtained by July 15 as a requirement for obtaining the financing.
Doug Harbach, director of the gaming board’s communications office, said Wednesday that conditional licenses were granted for the other six holders of the slot licenses in the state before their permanent licenses were granted.
He said, however, that all six already had gone through a suitability hearing before obtaining their conditional licenses. A suitability hearing takes place at the conclusion of extensive background investigations into the owners and key track employees.
The suitability hearing has not been set for Valley View Downs, and the background investigation continues. In May, Mary DiGiacomo Colins, gaming board chairwoman, said the board would conduct a thorough investigation, and she did not expect a final decision to be made until September although it could come earlier.
But Valley View Downs is arguing that it could legally be granted a license based on the fact that Centaur has been investigated in other states where it has obtained gaming licenses, including Colorado and Indiana.
The petition states that the Gaming Act provides that the board may determine whether the licensing standard of another jurisdiction is comprehensive and thorough and provides similar safeguards as required by Pennsylvania’s law. If the board makes such a determination, it may issue a slot license, the petition states.
Harbach also said that even if Valley View Downs obtains a conditional license, this does not ensure that a permanent license eventually would be granted.
He said he is unsure of whether a decision will be made today on the conditional license or whether the board would take it under advisement.