A Detroit-based developer can keep the license he won from Pennsylvania regulators to build Pittsburgh's only slot-machine casino, the state's highest court ruled Wednesday. The Supreme Court rejected two separate challenges, meaning Don H. Barden, who owns casinos in four other states, can build the Majestic Star Casino on Pittsburgh's North Shore. "I feel both overjoyed and vindicated by the Supreme Court's decision," Barden said in a statement. "While it's taken a little longer to get to this point than we had anticipated, we're grateful to the court for moving with such urgency and helping to clear the way for Pittsburgh's first casino."
The groups Barden beat out both had appealed to the state Supreme Court. They claimed, among other things, that Barden's other casinos are losing money in profitable gambling markets, making him a financially unworthy candidate. In the court's 6-1 decision, Chief Justice Ralph J. Cappy, who wrote the majority opinion, acknowledged that a Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board review of Barden's finances revealed "some less than optimum facets." However, Cappy pointed out that Barden's ability to borrow large sums of money indicates that investment banks believe he is financially viable and undercuts the argument that the gaming board should have deemed Barden to be a financial risk.
The investment banks, Cappy noted, are "neutral entities motivated wholly by their own financial self-interest." Three justices wrote concurring opinions, while Justice Ronald D. Castille dissented. Building the Majestic Star still faces additional difficulties.
A separate challenge is pending in the state Supreme Court to the city's planning approval of Barden's casino. The challenge was filed by the owners of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Pittsburgh Pirates, which have complained about traffic congestion near the two stadiums and an entertainment complex they hope to build on the North Shore. Barden is the controlling owner, but has set aside 19 percent of his enterprise for local partners, including soul singer Smokey Robinson and former Pittsburgh Steelers player Andy Russell.
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