SugarHouse Casino

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SugarHouse Casino is a proposed casino entertainment development along the Delaware River in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was one of five stand-alone casinos awarded a gaming license on December 20, 2006 ^[1] by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. On January 24, 2008 the proposed SugarHouse Casino's license was revoked by Mayor Michael Nutter of Philadelphia ^[2].

Surrounding communities and neighborhood residents have sought to prevent the casino from coming to the proposed building site due to quality of life issues and the presence of a protected turtle species^[3]. Information about a Revolutionary War era fort in the same vicinity^[4] has also been questionably uncovered.

The 1.3 million square foot casino complex will be built on the 22 acre site of the former Jack Frost Sugar Refinery. Phase I, estimated at $550 million, will include a state-of-the-art casino floor with 3,000 slot machines, a variety of retail and dining outlets, and free customer parking in a 3,000 car garage. Future phases of the project include a 500-room hotel with health spa, a 30,000 square foot event center, and expanded dining and retail facilities.

It is estimated that SugarHouse Casino will generate in excess of $1 billion in gaming taxes to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the City of Philadelphia over the first five years of operation.^[5]

On April 15, 2008, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court is convening in Philadelphia to determine if the City of Philadelphia had the right to lease the land where the casino is planning to build. The city's Mayor Nutter revoked the SugarHouse license in January and the city's lawyers claim the city never had the authority to issue the license in the first place. The owners of SugarHouse Casino are arguing that the city cannot legally revoke a license to build on the riverbank.^[6]

The Supreme Court did not indicate when it would rule.^[7]