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US – Philadelphia investor Ira Lubert wins Pennsylvania Category 4 casino auction award

By - 3 September 2020

Philadelphia billionaire Ira Lubert, who is currently licensed by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board in connection with an ownership interest with Holdings Acquisitions, operator of Rivers Casino Pittsburgh, has won the award to select a location for a Category 4 casino in an auction conducted prior to the Board’s public meeting.

Mr. Lubert’s bid amount of $10,000,101, one of two bids received for today’s auction, secured a location for placement of a Category 4 casino in a 15-mile radius area with a center point in Unionville Borough in Centre County.

The auction was held to carry out provisions in Act 23 of 2020 which directed the Board to conduct one auction for the Category 4 slot machine license previously applied for by Mount Airy Casino Resorts, but which was subsequently denied. Four other Category 4 licenses were awarded in 2018 auctions with three of those under construction.

Mr. Lubert is required to pay the bid price to the Commonwealth within two business days, and then has up to six months to submit an application for the Category 4 Slot Machine License.

The application will contain the precise site of the proposed Category 4 casino, as well as detailed plans and information concerning the proposed building plan, amenities, employment projections and other related information. Once the application is received and determined to be complete, the Board will post public information about the project on its website for interested persons to review.

A Category 4 Slot Machine License would permit the entity to operate between 300 and 750 slot machines. The entity could also petition for permission to initially operate up to 30 table games for an additional fee of $2.5m with the capability of adding an additional 10 tables games after its first year of operation.

The Board has not been authorised to conduct any additional Category 4 auctions.

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