Developer Don Barden still must receive approval from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, and, after that, the casino project is expected to move forward.

"We are asking our bridge lenders for additional time to complete the details of the permanent financing package and hope to close on this financing as quickly as possible so all of the bridge lenders will be paid in full," Barden said.

The final piece of the deal was when Apollo Strategic Value Fund, an investment firm incorporated on a British island off the coast of Normandy, committed $150 million to the project.
"I'm not surprised that it's so last minute," said Gregg Klein, a gambling industry analyst with BNP Paribas bank in New York City. "I do think that the project works."

State regulators had planned to consider Barden's multitiered financing plan last week but postponed their public hearing when one of Barden's attorneys told them they needed more time.

The casino financing deal is structured as a multitiered loan with money coming from the international investment firm Credit Suisse and a syndicate of banks.

Executives had hoped to finalize the financing package a month ago, but a tight credit market gave investors more time to weigh their options.

The developer has pledged $35 million of his own money to the project, a promise he backed up with plans to sell his Fitzgerald's casino in downtown Las Vegas. When he got the Pittsburgh slots license in December 2006, Barden said the Majestic Star would be the "flagship" of a new gambling empire.

Since then, the casino's cost projections increased about $320 million, to $770 million. It was unclear last night what the extra $10 million in the financing package would cover, but Barden had expected financing charges and a credit account to add $30 million to the construction cost.

A gambling board spokesman declined to comment on the agreement, since it's "a matter before the board."

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