Skip to content
Business
Link copied to clipboard

Philly investors Procacci, Stamatakis seek to revive casino deal north of Pittsburgh

Six months after losing his bid for Philadelphia's second casino license, South Philadelphia tomato king Joseph G. Procacci is getting back in the game.

Joseph Procacci. (David Maialetti/Staff Photographer)
Joseph Procacci. (David Maialetti/Staff Photographer)Read more

Six months after losing his bid for Philadelphia's second casino license, South Philadelphia tomato king Joseph G. Procacci is getting back in the game.

Procacci, 87, and his partner in the rejected Casino Revolution, Merit Management Group, have reached a preliminary agreement to rescue a Western Pennsylvania casino that has been on the drawing board for two years, company officials said Tuesday.

The Lawrence County project, backed by a group of Philadelphia-area investors led by insurance executive Manuel Stamatakis, has been delayed in part by the failure of the partnership, Endeka Entertainment L.P., to provide documents that state regulators need to investigate the group and its financing plan.

Last month, Penn National Gaming Inc., which became the general partner in the $225 million Lawrence Downs Casino and Racing Resort two years ago, said it wanted to end its involvement, citing "continued softness in the economy" and "the level of market saturation" in gaming.

At a regularly scheduled hearing Wednesday, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board will consider Penn National's petition to withdraw from the project and Endeka's request for a six-month extension on the application process.

If Endeka gets the extension, Procacci will step into Penn National's place as general partner. That means that he would be responsible for securing financing. Merit Management would handle the development of the casino and racetrack and manage it after it opens.

Little information about ownership position or financing of the Mahoning Township proposal was available Tuesday.

"The financing details are being worked out now," said John O'Riordan, a lawyer for Procacci. "We're not in a position now to talk about them while they are still in play, but we feel very confident that we will be able to get the project financed and built on budget."

The only financing piece that remains in place from the deal involving Penn National is $50 million from a Lawrence County bond sale, which would be repaid with the county's share of proceeds from the proposed casino.

Penn National's $50 million bond, which was required as part of the application process, expires June 1. If the board grants an extension, Procacci would post another bond to keep the project moving, O'Riordan said.

Stamatakis's primary partners in Endeka are builder Peter DePaul, lawyer Thomas Leonard, Flyers owner Ed Snider, and the Melissa Silver Trust, a charitable family trust controlled by the late Lewis Katz's daughter. Each owns about 18 percent of Endeka.

215-854-4651

@InqBrubaker