The Penguins plan to pursue the license for Pittsburgh's standalone slots parlor, with an aim of using the profits to fully fund their desired new arena.

Specifics have yet to be developed, but team officials hope to convince the new state Gaming Control Board that no licensee could contribute as much to the community as the Penguins. Atop the list of what they are expected to offer is a commitment to cover all of the estimated $250 million cost of a facility to replace Mellon Arena, along with a pledge to keep the 37-year-old National Hockey League franchise in town for the long term.

For four years, the Penguins have sought a new arena funded mostly with public money. Their plan to fund it with slots profits, team officials are expected to argue, would spare state and local taxpayers the burden of replacing a multipurpose arena that opened in 1961 and is among the oldest of its size in North America.

No member of the Penguins' front office was available for comment, but team President Ken Sawyer issued a statement on the slots legislation that passed yesterday in Harrisburg. The bill made no mention of funding for an arena.

"We are encouraged that slots legislation has passed," Sawyer said. "Despite the fact that there appears to be no specific allocation for a new arena in Pittsburgh, we believe this legislation will ultimately be the catalyst for an arena financing plan that works in the best interest of all parties."

Mario Lemieux is just one of several heavy hitters expected to bid for the slots parlor license in Pittsburgh over the coming months.

State Rep. Mike Veon, D-Beaver Falls, said that the seven-member gaming board that will assign the slots licenses within the next year -- a group that has yet to be named -- will show a preference to applicants who commit to projects that create long-term jobs and benefit the community beyond the parlor itself.

Veon said that it would meet that criteria to have the Penguins build an arena from their share of parlor money -- owners are permitted to keep 48 percent of revenues -- and encouraged them to apply, as did others in the Legislature.

"I think it's a very innovative approach, and I hope the Penguins move aggressively," said state Sen. Jack Wagner, D-Beechview. "I can tell you that I believe the Pittsburgh parlor will be the most lucrative in the state, and there are going to be funds available for the owner to do something extra to help the community. If that's getting an arena out of the deal and keeping the Penguins in town, that's a win-win for us. The last thing I want is for us to lose professional hockey in Pittsburgh."

Sen. Sean Logan, R-Monroeville, who also has a spot on the city-county Sports & Exhibition Authority that owns Mellon Arena, has been vocal in his opposition to public funding for a new facility. But he was effusive in his support of awarding a slots license to the Penguins.

"I think that's a great idea," Logan said. "Having a venue like that, where they could have shows, hockey games and other events connected with the slots parlor ... if the Penguins and Mario Lemieux are serious, that's something we all should look into."

Logan added that the local stature of Lemieux -- the Penguins' owner, Hall of Fame center and long-time charitable contributor to the medical community -- could give him an edge over applicants whose backgrounds are not as well known.

The Penguins would be expected to produce the $50 million license fee and follow the same procedures as any other applicant, legislators said.

Although professional sports generally try to avoid any association with gambling, the NHL already has given its blessing for the Penguins to pursue a slots license. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said last week that he would take no issue with the team owning and operating a parlor, even if it were part of the arena. Two years ago, he granted the Calgary Flames permission to seek a gambling license.

The slots license likely represents the Penguins' last hope of securing arena financing in time to meet their self-imposed deadline of being in a new home by 2007. That is the year their lease at Mellon Arena expires, and Lemieux warned last month that he could sell the franchise to out-of-town interests if there is no movement on the matter. An arena generally takes 18 months to two years to build.

Penguins officials privately had been saying for several days that their focus had been on whether slots would be legalized, not whether the legislation would provide funding for an arena. With the passage of slots, they expect the process of issuing licenses and reaching a financing agreement to take a year or longer, and they have expressed a willingness to be patient.

The slots legislation, which is awaiting Gov. Ed Rendell's signature, calls for $404 million to be allotted to big-ticket items in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County out of a $2 billion economic development fund, but it rules out any money being directed to an arena.

The city was assigned one parlor of 5,000 slots, to be located in or near Downtown. The most likely site of a new arena would be that of the existing one in Uptown.

There are several other known competitors for the Pittsburgh licenses, and still others could emerge.

Parking magnate Merrill Stabile wants to put a slots parlor on land he owns along General Robinson Street on the North Side, across from PNC Park.

Forest City Enterprises, which owns the Station Square complex, would like to have a standalone parlor at the former Philthy McNasty's restaurant. Harrah's casinos, a former partner with Forest City in Station Square, retains an option to re-enter the picture if gambling comes to Station Square.

Developer Charles J. Betters, who wants to build a racetrack/casino/hotel/retail complex on a Hays hillside overlooking Carson Street, already has an application for the state's final thoroughbred racing license. But he also could put in for a casino license, either as part of a track or as a standalone entity, in Hays or elsewhere.

Other officials think that somewhere Downtown, or in the Strip District just east of the new convention center, would be best for a casino. Putting it there, they said, would boost convention center usage and help Downtown hotels fill rooms.

It will take an estimated six months or longer for state officials to appoint the gaming board and for the board to hire staff to process all the applications for the 14 casinos statewide. Decisions on who will get the valuable casino licenses are not expected before mid-2005.

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