Manoukian testified before the board last week that the terms of his ownership in the Stadium partnership fall well within the limits of the law. In the first examination of the appeal, the board found Manoukian to be within the legal ownership limits. This is the second time the board is re-examining the issue with respect to Manoukian. Manoukian owns 85.84 percent of the Parx casino. The license application was sent back to the board by the state Supreme Court after the appeal of the award to the Stadium partnership based on the so-called 33.3 percent rule, which holds that no licensee owning 85 percent or more of an existing casino may own more than one-third of a second property.

The appearance at last Monday’s board hearing was to answer questions concerning his ownership stake in Stadium Casino, the consortium of Greenwood and Baltimore-based Cordish Companies that won the license to build and operate Philadelphia’s second casino. Watche “Bob” Manoukian, the Armenian billionaire who is the financial backer of Greenwood Gaming and principal owner of Greenwood’s Parx Casino at Philadelphia Park in Bensalem, last week appeared for the first time before the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.

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