The owners of the Mohegan Sun resort casino in the Uncasville section of Montville are competing to obtain the southern Philadelphia gaming license once held by rival Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket.
The Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority announced a new partnership with casino developer Ken Goldenberg of The Goldenberg Group and a handful of others to build a gaming development known as MARKET8 between the Pennsylvania Convention Center and Philadelphia’s historic district.
The group, collectively known as Market East Associates, filed for the Philadelphia license in November before the Mohegans joined in February. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board will hear the proposal Feb. 12. Five other groups are competing for the license.
Foxwoods originally held the exclusive right to this Philadelphia license, but the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board revoked the license in 2011 after various property issues and the economic slowdown hindered Foxwoods’ ability to develop a second casino. At one point, Foxwoods brought on casino developer Steve Wynn as a financial partner.
If the Mohegans are successful in obtaining the license, MARKET8 would be their second casino in Pennsylvania after Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs near Wilkes-Barre and Scranton. In addition to the casino in Uncasville, the tribe also operates a third casino, the Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City.
The Mohegans also are vying for a casino license in western Massachusetts against three other proposals. The tribe’s proposal calls for a $600 million development in Palmer, Mass.
