Bethlehem vote sets zoning area for gambling

Early-morning action means a slots casino would be permitted.

anyone believed Bethlehem left the door open to any possibility of a gambling ban, City Council effectively slammed it shut it early Wednesday morning.In a 5-2 vote at 1:10 a.m., council agreed to remove any ambiguity on whether gambling is allowed in the zoning district that covers the former Bethlehem Steel plant.

Economic development has been a key argument as Bethlehem publicly struggled over the past year to answer the question as to whether a casino should come to the Christmas City. A development team, including Las Vegas Sands of Nevada, is vying for a slots license that, it says, would drive the construction of a casino and entertainment district at the former plant. Those 124 acres, between the Fahy and Minsi Trail bridges, have languished for years despite the city's best efforts to market them to developers.BethWorks Now's plan includes a $879 million entertainment district of museums, shops, apartments and a casino of 5,000 slot machines wrapped around a collection of restored Steel buildings.

Besides the city signing off on the zoning, the developers must go through a licensing hearing Nov. 6 before the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. That board is expected to award stand-alone slots licenses Dec. 20.