Suprising Scranton & Wilkes-Barre PA

[donybrx]

Not to be outdone by Scranton, Wilkes-Barre is gaining a new pizza joint....3,000 square feet, significant because this is the first retail tenant within the brand new cinema complex downtown, so now they got DT movies, pizza, billliards, dance club, and books......in close prooximity...

Up across Public Square a piece....on North Main St. King's College will add a spiffy streetfront fitness center...very urban style...

I know...these jobs are minor compared to the Scranton Med School ( the first medical center since the Hershey Medical Center in 1962), but everything added to DT counts.....
Posted on Sat, Oct. 28, 2006

King’s announces major expansion to gym
The college plans to enclose the outdoor portico of Scandlon Center with glass.

By KRIS WERNOWSKY kwernowsky@leader.net

WILKES-BARRE – The construction of a major addition to King’s College’s campus gymnasium is expected to begin at the end of the spring semester, according to one college official.

The King’s College board of directors earlier this month approved the building of a new fitness center, according to Lisa Marie McCauley, vice president of business affairs.

Plans to enclose the outdoor portico of the William S. Scandlon Physical Education Center along North Main Street with glass will allow the college to convert the space into a 10,000-square-foot fitness and wellness center.

“It’s a nice big area. It’s a great congregation area and people keep looking right through it and it’s basically a place where the leaves gather,” McCauley said. “We decided it would behoove us to covert it into a glassed-in, open gym area.”

The split-level facility will feature weight-lifting equipment on the bottom level with cardiovascular exercise machines like treadmills and stationary bikes on the second floor. The original entrance will also be updated to feature a juice and snack bar.

“The general idea is to give people a better workout space and air conditioning, unlike the rest of the gym,” McCauley said.

The fitness center will be used by students, faculty and athletic and intramural teams for training and will consolidate several different fitness rooms currently scattered throughout the campus. Work is scheduled to begin on the project on May 23 – the day after graduation – to ready the new facility for the fall semester in 2007, McCauley said.

The architectural design of the project is being done by Robert A. Lack Architecture And Design Inc., of Lewisburg. Company founder Robert Lack is a 1976 graduate of King’s College.

“It’s rewarding for me to have a chance to participate on campus,” Lack said. “We’ll be coming up in a week with a more developed concept.”

McCauley said the renovation will help modernize the look of the King’s campus in the north corridor of the city’s Main Street District. The nonprofit organization CityVest also plans to convert the former Corcoran Printing and the Mary MacIntosh laundry and dry cleaning service buildings at North Main and North streets near the gymnasium into loft apartments.

The William S. Scandlon Physical Education Center is named in honor of a founding faculty member and former college vice president. No changes are expected elsewhere within the Scandlon facility which already features a 3,200-seat basketball arena, wrestling facilities, racquetball and handball courts, an Olympic-size swimming pool and a rifle range.


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Kris Wernowsky, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 831-7329.

[Ex-Ithacan]

^ Sounds like a good idea dony, but does this mean a fat, old fart like myself would be exposed to the general public? Seems like a mean thing to put the poor public through.

[donybrx]

Just take it easy with the spandex, brother man

[donybrx]

I wouldn't hold my breath on this one......sooner or later the airport will come into its own...but it isn't there yet......lower (or at least fairer) fares wolud help, but that's the common cry.......

Posted on Wed, Nov. 01, 2006

Avoca in running for AirTran service
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton airport is one of 49 sites the low-fare airline is considering entering.

By JERRY LYNOTT jlynott@leader.net

PITTSTON TWP. – It is too soon to tell whether it will be chosen, but the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport is among 49 destinations being eyed by AirTran Airways for new service.

The low-cost carrier began an online survey Monday asking the public to choose the next market it will serve.

The survey will run for at least a week, said Judy Graham-Weaver, an AirTran spokeswoman.

Airport director Barry Centini said he plans to get out the vote.

The airport will contact the 10 chambers of commerce it belongs to and tourist promotion boards asking that they notify members on e-mail lists to participate in the survey.

Centini also encouraged those not on the lists to vote.

“They’ll see that people are interested,” he said of AirTran.

The votes will be considered along with other factors by the Orlando, Fla.-based airline as it looks to expand its reach. Two of the top vote getters from a 2003 survey, Sarasota, Fla., and Seattle were added as destinations.

The airline, which uses the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport as its hub, is the nation’s second-largest low-cost, low-fare carrier behind Southwest Airlines, Graham-Weaver said. AirTran, a subsidiary of the publicly traded AirTran Holdings Inc., operates approximately 700 daily flights to 52 destinations.

Earlier this month AirTran announced nonstop service between Stewart International Airport in Newburgh, N.Y., and Atlanta, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and Tampa. The flights will begin on Jan. 11.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton has been without a low-cost carrier since March when Hooters Air pulled out because of internal financial problems. Aided by $325,000 in federal, county and airport funds, Hooters offered charter service to Florida and South Carolina for five months of an 11-month contract.

Hooters replaced the short-lived Vacation Express that stopped service in August 2004 after receiving more than $800,000 in support for flights to Florida.

Passenger numbers at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton picked up in August after months of decline. The loss of Hooters plus a reduction in the number of seats on outbound flights contributed to the drop. No mainline jets fly out of the airport as airlines use regional jets or turbo-prop aircraft. AirTran, on the other hand, flies 137-seat Boeing 737 and 117-seat Boeing 717 jets on its flights.

Airports big and small are on the list compiled by AirTran’s planning department. Allentown and Harrisburg are the only other Pennsylvania destinations in the survey.

The airline looks at each market individually and considers a number of different factors to determine if the route will be profitable. Passenger numbers alone don’t tell the whole story of an airport’s potential, Graham-Weaver said. There may be leakage to other airports within driving distance where fares are cheaper and flights more numerous.

When AirTran enters a market, it stimulates competition that results in lower fares and increased boardings, Graham-Weaver said.

The airline expects to make its choice before the end of the year, she added.

AirTran expects to announce additional markets separate from the survey. “We estimate we’ll probably add two more cities this year,” she said.

ON the net

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To participate in the AirTran survey, log on to www.airtran.com/nextcity.


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Jerry Lynott, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 829-7237.

[Snakeyes]

Yes, never had the honor of flying at AVP.....constant battle with Lehigh huh?

[donybrx]

^^^Harrisburg too.

[Ex-Ithacan]

Originally Posted by donybrx

Just take it easy with the spandex, brother man

I can't help it, the wife insists


^^ Kind of disappointed Ithaca/Tompkins regional isn't on the survey. Also surprised Newburgh was a big winner (the city is a mess). I hope Scranton/WB gets it.

[donybrx]

When researching for photos of the deopt in Scranton above, I found what I wanted within a website that I neglected to share at the time...it's full of railroad photos and maps for NE PA and Pennsylvania in general......check it out!

http://www.northeast.railfan.net/local.html

here's the Wilkes-Barre ( and area--Pittston too) page...fascinating:
http://www.northeast.railfan.net/local_scene.html

including Wilkes-Barre's remaining station, waiting for new use (1967 photo):

[donybrx]

University kudos:

10/27/2006
U of S recognized in three prestigious publications

The University of Scranton has been recognized by three prestigious journals this month.

The publications were:
The Chronicle of Higher Education, for its Fulbright prowess.

Barron’s, as one of the nation’s best buys in college education.

The Princeton Review, as one of the nation’s best 282 business schools.

The University of Scranton is listed among the “top producers” of Fulbright awards for American students in the Oct. 20 issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education. Just 81 schools in the nation were listed in four categories based on their type and size.

The university was among the 14 in the nation listed as top producers in the “Masters Institutions” category. It and Villanova University were the only Pennsylvania schools listed in that category.

Two students in the university’s class of 2006 were awarded Fulbright Fellowships. Over the past 35 years, 114 Scranton students have received grants in the competitions administered by the Institute of International Education (Fulbright) and International Rotary.

The school also was among 247 colleges in the nation included in the ninth edition of Barron’s Best Buys in College Education. Only 19 schools in Pennsylvania were listed.

Colleges selected for the guidebook represent quality higher-education programs, as compared to the cost of attendance. Selection is based on analysis of data that includes tuition costs and surveys of students and administrators.

For the second consecutive year, the university’s Kania School of Management was included in the Princeton Review’s “Best 282 Business Schools.”

[Ex-Ithacan]

^ That's all well and good, but can they beat Penn State in football? C'mon dony, let's not forget the important things about college.

[Snakeyes]

Wish they had a football team....somone get on that!



Pengiun Lounge in Scranton set to be turned into Grocery Store and Apts...by Jerry Joyce..

[donybrx]

Originally Posted by Ex-Ithacan

^ That's all well and good, but can they beat Penn State in football? C'mon dony, let's not forget the important things about college.

A couple of years back, the Scranton cheerleading squad could beat Penn State......it was ugly.....luckily I'm a Syracuse, fan...oh wait......Syracuse football.....hark! Listen! ......what's the giant sucking noise????....hear it? It's Syracuse football..once glorious and now.....well....like Penn state a couple years ago.....

On another front, back in the "Barre" ; W-B now needs a cool nickname, but it's not possible to get anything out of 'Wilkes-Barre' as far as I know. Anybody?

11/04/2006
Mohegan Sun presents $50 M for casino license
BY ROGER DUPUIS II
STAFF WRITER

WILKES-BARRE — Beaming from ear-to-ear, Gov. Ed Rendell came to town Friday not with cash in hand, but to take home a big check.

Rendell had reason to smile, as he collected Harrisburg’s first $50 million casino license check, courtesy of Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs. That cash — the first payment made to Harrisburg by a gaming entity — will be funneled into the state’s property tax relief fund.

“Pennsylvanians can rest assured that property tax relief is on the way,” Rendell told a small group of journalists and lawmakers gathered at the Best Western Genetti Hotel and Conference Center.

The Uncasville, Conn.-based Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, owner of the longtime harness track in Plains Township, plans to open the Commonwealth’s first slot machine casino to the general public at 10 a.m. on Nov. 14. Robert Soper, president and CEO of the facility, said the target date remains on track, as do two invitation-only test nights of operation, on Nov. 10 and 12.

“All our scheduled goals have been met at this point,” Soper said, adding that construction is essentially complete and the state Gaming Control Board’s review process is just about done.

License fees from Pennsylvania’s first crop of casinos are expected to pump $620 million into that fund by the end of 2007, the governor said — and that’s not counting the as-yet uncalculated revenues to be derived from levies on casino profits.

Statewide, more than 200,000 seniors will have their school property taxes eliminated as part of the plan, he noted.

The check was cardboard, but Rendell confirmed that cold, hard cash was wired into Harrisburg’s account this past Monday.

If the governor was pleased to announce tax relief, his pleasure was doubled at being able to tout the economic benefits that gaming is expected to bring to Northeastern Pennsylvania when Mohegan Sun’s operation opens later this month.

“When I thought about gaming in Pennsylvania, I always knew we would attract the best run casinos in the United States, and we have done exactly that,” Rendell said in praise of the Mogehan Tribal Gaming Authority, proprietors of the Mohegan Sun resort in Connecticut.

Construction on the $70 million first phase began in September 2005. The track’s old grandstand was removed to make way for improvements, including a 40,000-square-foot addition. In addition to construction jobs, phase one is expected to create 400 permanent jobs, Soper said. It will feature nearly 1,100 slot machines on two floors, along with a food court, bar and patio.

Luzerne County Commissioner Todd Vonderheid praised Soper and the Mohegans for the commitment they’ve shown to the region.

“When the Mohegans came to Northeast Pennsylvania, we thought we would be a branch plant, without having a significant decision maker here,” Vonderheid said.

To the contrary, he said local leaders have found Soper and track management responsive to local concerns and interested in community affairs.

Rendell said he’ll have to give his regrets for the opening day, however, as he is planning a sojourn in Puerto Rico after Election Day.

[donybrx]

Dateline Scranton:

11/07/2006
St. Peter’s Square project progressing
BY STACY BROWN
STAFF WRITER

A restaurant and gift shop are set to open downtown next week, the first steps of the planned $50 million St. Peter’s Square project.
Groundbreaking on 100 condominiums, also part of the project, is expected to follow in early 2007, said Jerry Joyce, the project’s developer.

“This is just a prelude of what is to come,” Mr. Joyce said Monday.

A restaurant, Scanlan’s, will relocate from its current Spruce Street location, and a gift store, Crazy Pineapple, will sell specialty items, he said.

Neither business’ owner was available for comment Monday. Construction workers, who have worked daily this year to renovate the former industrial laundry complex behind St. Peter’s Cathedral and along Linden Street, appear poised to finish the two-story building.

A fluorescent sign in front of the structure Monday announced a grand opening for Nov. 18.

Mayor Chris Doherty, who has openly supported the project, cited downtown lofts and apartments as a lure for young professionals.

“The block has been completely blighted, and this project is going to change all of that,” he said. The project would have immediate financial benefit because it is has no KOZ tax breaks, Mr. Doherty added.

Mr. Joyce said he has secured most of the costs through financing and is seeking about $10 million to $12 million in state grants.

“When you build apartments like these in a city like Scranton, the rents are going to be different than places like New York City and Philadelphia,” Mr. Joyce said. “But the construction costs are going to be the same, so state grants are available to help with such costs.”

Of the 100 condominiums, ranging from 1,800 to 3,200 square feet, 60 will be sold for about $335,000; the remaining 40 will be rented for a price yet to be determined. With the creation of upscale condominiums as part of the plans, the project is expected to attract middle-class residents who will make downtown their new home, Mr. Joyce said.

St. Peter’s Square is scheduled to be constructed in similar design to the brick-and-sandstone St. Peter’s Cathedral, the mother church of the Diocese of Scranton. The finished project is expected to have rooftop gardens, underground parking and condos with balconies overlooking the street or courtyard.

The site, which now contains mostly unoccupied commercial buildings and a parking lot, eventually will be an L-shaped series of connected five- and six-story buildings.

While most of the buildings would be five stories tall, at the corner it would rise to six stories overlooking a public courtyard with a fountain. The ground level would have retail and service businesses under blue half-moon awnings; upper levels would be residential. The entire project is expected to be completed in early 2008, Mr. Joyce said.

Contact the writer: sbrown@timesshamrock.com

[donybrx]

Skiers rejoice......Scranton's ski center back. no slip-ups this time

11/07/2006
Montage deal complete
BY ROGER DUPUIS II
STAFF WRITER


Clouds of litigation were succeeded by clouds of celebratory cigar smoke as Lacka-wanna County completed its $5.1 million sale of Montage Ski Area.

“We done,” majority Commissioner Robert C. Cordaro quipped, grinning, after county officials, investors and their attorneys signed all the contracts — and the check — just after 5 p.m. Monday.

After nearly five months of political debate and litigation, followed by another month of contract work, the closing paves the way for Montage to open under new ownership next month, with a new name: Sno Mountain, after the Philadelphia group which bought the property.

If all goes well, skiing will kick off Dec. 15, said Sno Mountain President Denis Carlson.

“It’s just fantastic,” Mr. Carlson said.

Already, workers have been busy installing pipes for the 193 new snow-making guns, which are soon to be delivered, he added. While various delays prevented Sno Mountain from doing a full-scale renovation and expansion of the ski lodge, new paint, carpeting, roof and a completely gutted kitchen will give the building a much-updated look when skiiers arrive.

Sno Mountain’s plans hit more than a few bumps in the road since being unveiled June 23, including a failed lawsuit by minority Commissioner Mike Washo, who raised red flags about how the deal was brokered and whether it offered adequate protections to ensure the resort remained in use as a recreation facility.

In the end, he and another challenger — former Montage suitor and Dunmore real estate developer Christopher J. Speicher — lost in court and decided not to appeal.

That is not to say all legal matters are finished.

The parties have reached a provisional agreement on easements involving the adjacent Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain, Mr. Cordaro said, with final details to be resolved.

And, at the end of the day, the various expenses incurred in connection with the sale mean the county will only clear $4.98 million on the deal.

For Mr. Cordaro, the real gains are yet to come. Montage has racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses each year. Now, he predicts, the taxpayers will be relieved of those losses, and will benefit from the property being returned to the tax rolls.

“It’s now in the right hands, private hands,” he said

Contact the writer: rdupuis@timesshamrock.com

[donybrx]

There's jobs in them thar hills, too. Many. and maybe 200 year round.


11/08/2006
Sno Mountain planning to hire
BY ROGER DUPUIS II
STAFF WRITER


Sno Mountain owners plan to hire 450 new staffers, with as many of 200 of those workers possibly slotted for year-round employment.

“We plan to have three months of skiing and three months of water park operation, but we don’t know yet how many of those will be needed in between,” Sno Mountain LLC president Denis Carlson said Tuesday.

The Philadelphia-based firm, which closed Monday on its $5.1 million purchase of the former county-owned Montage Ski Area, also plans to retain the mountain’s 20 or so permanent employees.

“We’re going to keep the same health care that they have now,” Mr. Carlson said “We’re trying to replicate as much as we can.”

Union employees will be allowed to remain unionized, he added, saying, “We’re not going to go in and be union busters.” He’ll meet with union representatives later this week.

Lackawanna County majority Commissioner Robert C. Cordaro said the employees would remain on the county’s books for a few days after the purchase, until transfer-related paperwork is completed.

Sno Mountain plans to open for skiing Dec. 15.

While the summer’s litigation and other delays will prevent the dramatic lodge expansion and renovations Sno Mountain had hoped for, returning customers will see some substantial changes when they hit the slopes this season.

“Well, for one thing, there’s going to be snow,” Mr. Carlson said with a chuckle. Installation of 193 new snowmaking guns is expected for next week.

New paint, carpeting, a roof and a completely gutted lodge kitchen will be complemented by an expanded retail shop, new lockers and expanded seating in the cafe area.

Sno Mountain is seeking day- care certification as one move to make the resort attractive to families. Previously, ski school was limited to those 6 years old and up. That threshold will be lowered to 3 years old.

Also, a new terrain park, three trails wide, will be built on the front face.

Due to delays, Sno Mountain’s plans to open a water park in 2007 are still in question, but the firm hasn’t given up.

“We’re still pushing,” Mr. Carlson said. “But obviously we had to put 100 percent of our effort” into the December ski start.

Contact the writers: rdupuis@timesshamrock.com

[Ex-Ithacan]

Scranton, heart of the resort area in NE PA.

[donybrx]

Ex, my man...you really do belong in public relations........you're that good!

Actually, I think that Montage is within Scranton's city boundaries...lemme check on it.....I'll bet the Scranton guys..aka the Scranton ones..would know

[donybrx]

This comes under the heading Great Ideas, Long Overdue!! and not just for Scranton.......
Announcing: The Multi-Municipal Plan.


11/09/2006
Planners searching for local blueprint
BY SARAH HOFIUS
STAFF WRITER


From downtown Scranton to the farms in North Abington Township, a group of community planners will see it all when they tour 11 communities this weekend.

It’s the next step in developing the area’s first multi-municipal plan.

The plan is the goal of the Scranton-Abingtons Planning Association, which is made up of the townships of Abington, Glenburn, Newton, North Abington, West Abington and South Abington; the boroughs of Dunmore, Clarks Green, Clarks Summit and Dalton; and the city of Scranton.

Consultants from McCormick Taylor, of Philadelphia, and Borton-Lawson, of Wilkes-Barre, will board a bus with area officials for the Saturday and Sunday tour.

“You want to know how things are today before you can imagine what tomorrow can be like,” Matthew Bennett, a senior planner at McCormick Taylor, said. “What we’re hoping to see is what people see every day.”

In the tour, which will take six to seven hours each day, the planners will see each municipality’s features, including parks, rural areas, shopping districts and traffic-congestion spots, said SAPA coordinator Denise Prowell.

In Clarks Summit, that means South and North State Street, East and West Grove Street and stopping by the fire station, Virginia Kehoe, borough manager said.

In October, after a search for a community planner, SAPA picked the planning team, at a cost of about $290,000, SAPA President Lee Jamison said.

The developers are being paid by several grants, including ones from the state Department of Community and Economic Development and the Department of Transportation.

Development will take about 18 months. There will be public meetings for community input, Mr. Bennett said.

Contact the writer: shofius@timesshamrock.com

[donybrx]

Re: the Sterling Tower.....Looks like they're not gonna implode it, after all, but there's drama afoot anyway......


11/10/2006
No one hurt when construction vehicle falls two floors at Hotel Sterling project
STAFF REPORT


A construction vehicle being used to tear down the Hotel Sterling tower in downtown Wilkes-Barre fell from a 12th story concrete perch Monday through two floors below, according to the company handling the project.

The operator of the vehicle, Carlos DeLoa, was not injured and refused treatment after the fall that occurred when a portion of the 12th floor collapsed, the company said in a press release sent Thursday.

However, DeLoa was taken to a local hospital as a precautionary measure and released.

The vehicle involved was a skid-steer loader, commonly known as a “Bobcat,” the company said.

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating.

Monday’s accident shows the poor condition of the structure, the company said.

Tearing down the Hotel Sterling tower is part of a plan to revitalize the former hotel property.

[donybrx]

Pennsylvania's very first slots casino opens in greater Wilkes-Barre; be among the first to get your pockets picked here.......


11/11/2006
Mohegan Sun debut hits Triple 7
BY TIM GULLA
STAFF WRITER

PLAINS TWP. — The opening of the Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs on Friday night was supposed to be just a test, a mere prelude to Tuesday’s real grand opening to the general public.

But to the Mohegan Sun, members of the Mohegan Tribe, 465 newly employed workers, about 1,000 invited guests and the politicians who touted legalized gambling as a means to many ends, the first dollars placed in Pennsylvania slot machines were monumental in scope.

“This is a great event, not only for this community but the whole region,” said Dr. Michael MacDowell, president of College Misericordia. “The economic stimulus from this is going to be wonderful.”

The first customers of a Pennsylvania casino were greeted with a vastly remodeled facility, as the Mohegans left no stones unturned in the $70 million transformation of the former Pocono Downs harness racing track into a luxurious home for 1,083 slot and video poker machines. Marble floors, brightly colored carpeting, and finely crafted woodwork surround walls of video screens and rows upon rows of slots like “Wheel of Fortune” and “Triple 7.”

Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs President Robert Soper described the decor as a “little taste” of what’s in store for a much larger slots casino and entertainment complex set for construction sometime next spring.

Before the night ended, the event was being hailed as a success.

“Everything’s going well,” spokesman Jim Wise said just a few hours before the night ended. “There have been no major issues at all that we’ve seen so far.”

While many viewed the opening as the beginning of a new era in Pennsylvania and Luzerne County, Bruce “Two Dogs” Bozsum saw the opening as a promise kept and a duty performed.

The Great Chief Uncas of the Mohegan Tribe had commanded that the tribe should always plan for 13 generations in the future. Bozsum, a member of the tribe who serves as chairman of the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, is 13 generations removed from Uncas and it’s his generation’s time to do the planning.

“This is another way to ensure we’ll be around for another 13 generations,” he said.

The Mohegans, who own and operate one of the world’s largest gambling facilities at the Mohegan Sun Casino and Hotel in Uncasville, Conn., are not only the first casino operators to open in Pennsylvania, they are also the first American Indian tribe to venture off their reservation with a commercial gambling establishment.

The opening was long time coming for the tribe, since it bought the facility at the beginning of 2005 and began construction on the temporary slots casino in September 2005. At one point, the tribe even hinted at the possibility of a pull-out in a dispute over the levels of taxation.

“We were eager to get it going as soon as possible,” said Mitchell Grossinger Etess, chief executive of the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority.

“Sometimes, good things take a little more work to achieve,” Soper said.

Test nights were being held Friday, and again on Sunday, to ensure that all of the computer systems and a real-time accounting system were working appropriately. Strict requirements by state gaming regulators called for one guest per slot machine for Friday’s test.

Because all of the after-tax profits from the test nights are being given to the United Way of Wyoming Valley, the local charity was placed in charge of the guest list. Because tickets were limited, the United Way said it had little choice but to limit the list to major corporate sponsors, large donors and volunteers.

Because financial figures from the first test night were not available before press time, it was unclear how much money was raised for the United Way. Friday’s proceeds were going to a very specific cause, since the funds will be set aside for a new program jointly formed by the Mohegans and United Way aimed at helping problem gamblers.

“This money will be the seed money to create that program,” Soper said.

The proceeds from Sunday’s event will benefit all United Way causes.

Ray Angeli, the president of Lackawanna College who serves as a member of the state Gaming Control Board, said he was impressed with the operations and all of the work that went into making Friday’s test possible. Angeli has the authority to decide after the two test nights

whether the casino is ready to open to the general public on Tuesday. He’s been on site for about two weeks now, monitoring the progress. “The place looks great,” he said. “They’ve done some really hard work.”

Far from just fun, games, and a lavish spread of food created by visiting executive chefs from the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut, gaming regulators had a set schedule of tasks to perform Friday night. Angeli said the regulators would be monitoring all aspects of casino operations, from the operation of the computer systems to the flow of money on the casino floor, and would be holding hourly meetings to assess how the night was going.

The Mohegan Sun had almost every employee working Friday, even though the gaming would last only six hours, because regulators also were examining how the casino workers changed shifts and passed responsibilities.

To casino guests, though, the work by regulators was mostly unseen.

“I’m elated,” state Sen. Robert Mellow, D-Peckville, the Senate minority leader who was a strong backer of slots in the state. “I think the opening tonight is a legacy for Gov. Rendell and it’s precedent setting. This is the first one to open. Tonight will never reoccur in Pennsylvania.”

Despite being a strong proponent of gaming, which will be used to reduce property taxes, Mellow joked that he’s not much of a gambler. He doesn’t mind spending money on a new suit but does mind losing it in a game a chance. But he came prepared, nonetheless.

“I probably will recycle a $100 bill,” he said as he walked inside.