Debate over Location of Two Philly Casinos Continues, Pittsburgh Casino Delayed

Pennsylvania has seen its share of casino news recently as efforts to allow voters to decide where two casinos should be built in Philadelphia moved a step closer Friday and the opening of Pittsburgh's stand-alone casino on the North Shore has been pushed back several months to the summer of 2008. In Philadelphia, a City Council committee voted to have the full Council decide if the issue of the two casinos' location should be placed on the May 15 ballot, the Philadelphia Daily News reports. At least four local groups filed legal appeals Friday to the Dec. 20 decision by the state Gaming Control Board to license the two casinos on the Delaware riverfront, one in Fishtown, the other in South Philly. In Pittsburgh, the winning bidder, Detroit businessman Don Barden, has to wait to see if either of the two losing bidders appeals the state-awarded slots license. Barden originally had planned to open the Majestic Star casino between the Carnegie Science Center and the West End Bridge in March 2008, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.