Bally is slot manufacturer of choice

When it comes to supplying the state's racetracks with casino-management systems, Las Vegas-based Bally Technologies Inc. is emerging as the vendor of choice.Today, the company announced an agreement with Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs in Wilkes-Barre to provide the system that will run the racino's gambling floor, expected to open next month. It will also provide more than 200 slot machines.So far, Bally has been picked to provide casino-management systems by three of the six racetracks that will be among the first places to offer slots gambling in the state. Philadelphia Park in Bensalem and Harrah's Chester Casino & Racetrack have also chosen Bally.The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board will decide at its meeting Wednesday on awarding conditional licenses permitting the addition of slot machines at six racetracks. Permanent licenses will be voted on for 14 slots parlors by the end of the year.The other racetracks seeking slot machines are the Meadows near Pittsburgh, Presque Isle Downs in Erie, and Penn National in Grantville, near Harrisburg.On Friday, Harrah's spokesman Jason Birney said the Chester racino was also selecting Bally for its slots technology and as a provider of some of its slot machines. The casino at the $400 million property is scheduled to open in January with 2,750 slot machines.On Aug. 16, Bally announced it had signed a contract with Greenwood Racing Inc. to provide the system to manage its casino at Philadelphia Park.In July 2004, Pennsylvania legalized slot-machine gambling for 14 locations across the state. Delays followed, including a court challenge that brought the licensing process to a standstill for half a year, and a nine-month stand-off over slot distributorships.Bally, founded in 1932, designs, manufactures, operates and distributes gaming devices, systems and technology worldwide. The biggest designer and maker of slot machines, International Game Technology, and number-two Aristocrat Leisure Ltd. are its main competitors.Mohegan Sun purchased the Pocono Downs Racetrack from Penn National Gaming Inc. in early 2005. The Mohegan Indian tribe has owned a successful casino resort in Uncasville, Conn., for nearly 10 years."We thought there would be some beneficial synergies by using the same system as our Mohegan property in Connecticut," said Robert Soper, president and general manager of Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs.Soper said the first phase of the Pocono Downs racino would open next month with 1,081 slot machines in a renovated area. The tribe plans to construct a new building to accommodate up to 2,000 slots.