The major recruiting effort for Pittsburgh’s Rivers Casino begins in late March with a one-day career fair, where managers in charge of everything from food service to finance will set up booths and talk shop with potential employees. Following that, the company will hold periodic job fairs - a mall booth with pamphlets, for example, to spread awareness of the new employer.

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (AP) - Pennsylvania lawmakers asking questions about the rescue of a financially troubled Pittsburgh casino project found a more complicated situation than they thought. The prime contractor on the Majestic Star casino said today that dozens of subcontractors may quit the partially built project next week. They've gone several months without pay from the owner, Detroit businessman Don Barden.

Facing an idle construction scene and gaming board scrutiny of his financing, Detroit developer Don Barden last week surrendered a 75 percent interest in his Majestic Star casino project in Pittsburgh to Walton Street Capital Fund 6, an investment firm headed by Chicago billionaire Neil Bluhm, and a consortium of affiliated investors. In a hearing before the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, Barden outlined the equity deal...

Governor Rendell has a strong interest in every single casino in this state. That's because using slots revenue from those casinos to reduce school property taxes was his project. Rendell proposed the idea, convinced the General Assembly to buy into it and now wants every casino up and running as fast as possible. Today Rendell said he is confident in Don Barden and that is good news for the casino developer in Pittsburgh.

Construction of the planned Pittsburgh slots casino has been suspended for about two weeks until a contractor is paid the USD 10 million he is owed, a spokesman for the casino developer said. But Bob Oltmanns, spokesman for Majestic Star Casino developer Don Barden, said Tuesday that USD 120 million in funding for the casino has been secured from Walton Street Capital LLC.

The general contractor of a planned casino in Pittsburgh said he is optimistic financing will come through to keep the project moving, but acknowledged there's a scenario under which construction could be temporarily halted. Don Barden, the operator of the planned Majestic Star Casino, has until June 30 to pay contractors for work, said Dan Keating III, chairman of Philadelphia-based Keating Construction, the general contractor on casino project.

Pittsburgh casino developer Don Barden told the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board on Wednesday that efforts to complete USD 780 million in financing for his planned Majestic Star Casino are moving forward, a spokesman said. Barden's spokesman, Bob Oltmanns, said the Detroit businessman "addressed all of the board members' questions. They seemed to be satisfied." Oltmanns said he did not want to give a timetable for when financing arrangements would be complete...

Pittsburgh (AP) - The developer of a Pittsburgh slots casino has been summoned before the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. The board wants Don Barden to answer questions Wednesday about securing financing for his casino. Barden's spokesman Bob Oltmanns says the Detroit businessman was in Harrisburg on Monday seeking more time to present details of his USD 780 million financing plan.

You can pretty much forget about playing slot machines in Pittsburgh next year. It doesn't look like Don Barden's Majestic Star casino will open until 2009. Given that construction has yet to start at the North Shore site, casino spokesman Bob Oltmanns acknowledged yesterday that odds were stacked against a 2008 opening. "I don't see how it is possible with a 16-month construction schedule," he said. Mr. Oltmanns refused to speculate on a new timetable for the casino opening.

Majestic Star Casino paid its USD 50 million licensing fee Monday for a North Shore slot machine parlor and said it welcomed an expedited timetable for the state Supreme Court to consider arguments by Pittsburgh's sports teams about casino traffic. The Detroit-based casino company paid the fee to the state Gaming Control Board, a board spokesman confirmed. The Supreme Court earlier this month rejected appeals by two losing bidders, affirming the company's license.