No Slot Machines, No Penguins

Pittsburgh is somewhat worried these days – and it is all about slot machines. If the city wants to keep the Penguins in town, they have to build them a new stadium – and that is where the slot machines come in. Their lease at the current 45 year old Mellon Arena expires this upcoming June, which means the team can go anywhere they want to.

The Isle of Capri has offered to build them a brand new arena, if they are given the slot machine license that they have been trying to get. There are two other companies also vying for the slot machine license, and if they get it they have pledged to give some money toward keeping the team, but won’t build them a new arena. Experts say that the smartest thing that could happen would be for Isle to get the slot machines, the Penguins get their new arena, and then the people of Pittsburgh get the revenue from both the slot machines and the Penguins.

Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato has pledged that the arena will be built whether or not Isle gets the slot machine license, but many are wondering how exactly that would happen. Parcels of land have already been purchased for the project, so many think that perhaps Isle doesn’t need to get the slot machine license for the Penguins to stay. However, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman says that he is not quite ready to embrace a plan that would eliminate the need for the Isle’s slot machine revenue. He says that the slot machine revenue plan is the best one of all of them.

"I think I've been very clear about this: We want the Penguins to stay in Pittsburgh," Bettman said. "This is a great market, there are great fans here, and we would like nothing better for Pens to have a new arena ... and on the right economic terms, so we don't have to worry about the long-term viability of the franchise. If we have to deal with something else, a lot of factors come into play and I can't be as certain about the future."

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