Bethlehem approves zoning for slots

The majority of Bethlehem City Council is willing to roll the dice that a casino will jump-start the redevelopment at the former Bethlehem Steel plant but council is not taking any chances with the nuisance businesses that may try to open near a slots casino.Pawn shops, check-cashing businesses, massage parlors and other adult-oriented businesses would have to stay at least 5,000 feet — nearly a mile — from the slots casino and adhere to a list of restrictions according to the proposal council supported early today with a vote of 5-2.

Council also voted to amend the zoning laws to allow gambling in the industrial redevelopment district which covers the 124 acres of the former plant where developers want to put a casino.

BethWorks Sands Gaming is one of six players competing for two slots licenses the state will award for stand-alone casinos outside Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. In Allentown, Aztar Corp. hopes to build a Tropicana hotel and casino.