Official slams Penn National proposal

ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey -- As reported by the Press of Atlantic City: "Plans by a Pennsylvania gaming company to redevelop Bader Field could leave the city with "four grind joints" instead of the lavish megacasinos that are needed to transform the resort into a major tourist destination, a state development official argued Wednesday.

"Calling the Penn National Gaming proposal 'a scam,' Thomas D. Carver warned that the city may end up sacrificing the 140-acre site for hundreds of millions of dollars less than the price it could attract in a competitive sale conducted by his agency.

"...Carver's remarks, made during a meeting with reporters and editors of The Press of Atlantic City, reflect an increasingly nasty dispute between his state agency and city officials over control of Bader Field, a former airport now considered a prime casino development site.

"Carver estimates that Bader Field could fetch more than $1 billion in a sale supervised by the CRDA on behalf of the city. However, Penn National Gaming stepped forward this week with an offer to buy the property for $800 million and grab exclusive development rights.

"Under its proposal, Penn would subdivide the land for as many as four casinos. In the process, it would gain rights to build its own casino on one of the parcels and could sell the remaining property to other developers.

"Penn's deal would include two payments of $50 million each in the next two years for property-tax relief to help ease the burden of the city's property reassessment on local residents, according to a draft copy of the proposal.

"...The CRDA is trying to reach agreement with the city for what Carver characterized as an 'honest and transparent' bidding process that would allow top casino companies to compete for the land.

"...Penn's proposal has discouraged some major gaming companies from even considering making a bid for Bader Field unless the sale is supervised by the CRDA, Carver said..."