The US state of Philadelphia has awarded a casino license to Live! Hotel and Casino, a joint venture of two eastern seaboard casino operators, to be built in the city's stadium district.
Live! won a four-way competition for the last casino licence in eastern Pennsylvania and the fifth in the Philadelphia region. It will be owned and operated by the Cordish Cos of Baltimore and Greenwood Gaming and Entertainment of Bensalem, Pennsylvania.
In a 172-page analysis released a few hours after the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board's unanimous vote, members said they liked the "synergy" between a casino and eight million sports and music enthusiasts who visit 400 events per year there.
It presents an opportunity to market the complex as a year-round attraction, and best satisfies the state's goal of generating more tax revenue from two casinos in Philadelphia, the gaming board wrote.
A casino could take a couple years to build, even if the result is not challenged in court.
