Lawyer abruptly agrees to file for license as a Foxwoods principal

HARRISBURG - For more than half an hour Wednesday, an attorney for South Jersey lawyer Lewis Katz tried to persuade the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board not to insist that his client be licensed as a principal in the Foxwoods Casino project.

But just as Robert Graci began answering commissioners' questions, Katz pulled his legal team aside. They returned to the hearing with an abrupt change in strategy: After months of fighting the board's order to apply for a license, Katz agreed to file.

Though involved in the Foxwoods project for four years, he was making his first appearance before the board. He did not address the seven members, and afterward he declined to comment on his decision.

However, the hearing helped clear up a matter lingering since 2006, when Foxwoods won a slots license: Just what is Lewis Katz's role in the project?

Katz, a close friend of Gov. Rendell's and an entrepreneur who made a fortune from parking garages, billboards, banking, and pro sports, is not a direct investor in Foxwoods. His daughter, Melissa Silver, participates in the project through a charitable trust for her family.

Nonetheless, he has worked behind the scenes to keep the foundering project alive - an involvement acknowledged by state regulators in ordering him on Aug. 6 to apply for a license.

Katz, represented by Graci and former Attorney General LeRoy Zimmerman, had argued in motions to the gaming board that he was an adviser, not an investor.

The licensing process - a thorough review of financial, legal, and personal information - is required of anyone who will own or control a casino. Doug Harbach, a gaming board spokesman, said it can take months.

Katz "is expected to submit the application and supporting documents promptly," Harbach said.

In addition to his daughter's charitable trust, the other major local investors in Foxwoods include Comcast-Spectacor chairman Ed Snider and a charitable trust for developer Ron Rubin.

Graci had tried to keep Wednesday's proceedings private and the information submitted to the board confidential. Licensing Katz, he argued, would involve personal, professional, and proprietary data on the Foxwoods group, called Philadelphia Entertainment and Development Partners (PEDP).

Graci said Katz was registered as a representative of PEDP. Under gaming law, anyone who functions as a lawyer, lobbyist, or agent for a casino principal must be registered with the board, but not licensed.