Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell has upped the ante in his high-stakes bid to bring casino gambling to Philadelphia, warning the city of dire financial consequences if a pair of high-profile projects are blocked. The governor’s comments could provide some political muscle to Foxwoods, which is facing staunch opposition to its downtown building plans from neighbourhood activists.

Foxwoods now faces a years-long delay in its drive to build a casino in Philadelphia amid intense neighborhood opposition and mounting difficulties nailing down a development site.

Foxwood’s long-running efforts to build a Philadelphia casino are facing potentially devastating challenges from politicians exasperated by additional requests for delays from the financially battered tribal gaming giant.

Pennsylvania homeowners are set for a tax cut as wagering revenue begins to pour in from newly built gambling venues. However, the state’s gambling expansion - introduced several years ago - has not all been smooth sailing, with half the casinos and racinos originally proposed yet to open.

Faced with a political backlash and deteriorating financial markets, a trio of major Pennsylvania gambling projects hangs in the balance. The current turmoil unveils how the Keystone State’s expansion into fully-fledged slot machine gaming has been forced to confront some serious obstacles, with Governor Rendell taking a particularly proactive role in the most recent negotiations.

Steve Wynn has finally gained a major East Coast foothold, but the Las Vegas gambling tycoon will also inherit some Pennsylvania-sized political headaches when he pitches his vision for a long-stalled Philadelphia casino project to regulators today.

At a time when gambling revenue is down across the US, Pennsylvania’s fledgling slot machine market is posting year-on-year revenue increases. The Keystone State’s success, based on a wagering line-up that is heavy on racino, or convenience-style gambling, comes even as the industry’s traditional hotspots struggle.

Billionaire Neil Bluhm has emerged as a key player in the booming Pennsylvania gambling market, with a leading stake in two of the state’s top casino projects.

An expansion campaign gone awry has Foxwoods, the world’s largest casino, grappling with some daunting financial and political challenges, including a possible debt restructuring.

In an attempt to become a dominant player in the northeast, Pennsylvania state lawmakers finally gave their approval to a proposal legalizing table games at casinos and racinos across the state.