It was recently reported that Governor Ed Rendell announced that the best chance the Pittsburgh Penguins have of getting a new hockey arena is by obtaining a slots operation license, which would permit the team to profit from slots gaming revenues.
Although in the previous year, the state’s capital budget did approve the allocation of $90 million designated to permit the construction of the Penguins arena, ultimately it was never really financed. The team’s spokesperson, David Morehouse, reportedly said that it is precisely the lack of finances that motivated the team to submit its request to be authorized to operate slots.
Construction of the new Penguins arena will not occur in the near future, as the Pennsylvanian Gaming Control Board is not expected to produce slot machine regulations until the end of the present year. Moreover, Morehouse reportedly revealed that even if the team does succeed in becoming a slots licensee, it will have to wait until after the expiration of its lease agreement at Mellon Arena in 2007.
