Don Barden isn't the only one feeling the financial pinch these days.

With money tight and interest rates high, casino owners from Atlantic City to Las Vegas are postponing, scaling back and canceling projects altogether as they ride out the financial storm.

"It's a very difficult time to be raising hundreds of millions of dollars," said Joseph Weinert, senior vice president of Spectrum Gaming Group, an industry consultant. "I don't think any industry looks forward to going to the market right now."

Construction costs for Mr. Barden's North Shore casino, the flagship of his Majestic Star chain, have jumped from $450 million to $600 million.

He is borrowing $800 million, including financing fees, an interest reserve, contingency and lawyer fees and insurance, to fund the project, and is putting in no money of his own. Proposed interest rates on the main $650 million in borrowing from international lender Credit Suisse range from 9 percent to 16 percent, thanks in large part to the continuing worldwide credit crunch.

The high rates and heavy borrowing have raised concerns from New York rating agencies, which believe the casino must open strongly so that Mr. Barden can meet the debt payments from the start.

Yet, despite the struggles, Mr. Barden is actually building. Foundations have been poured and part of the building's skeleton is now visible off the Ohio River shore, thanks to a $200 million bridge loan. The casino's opening is scheduled for May 1.

"Relative to where the rest of the industry is in terms of seeking capital, Don Barden is in a relatively good position," Mr. Weinert said.

There are still hurdles ahead, however.

The biggest is the Credit Suisse financing. Credit Suisse launched the loans more than two weeks ago, hoping to attract interest from banks or other investors. The fact it took that step is an indication that it is confident that the interest will be there.

"Generally a lender of that stature is not going to be in the game of hoping to attract financing," said Brian Gordon, principal analyst with Applied Analysis, a Las Vegas financial adviser. "Their expertise generally would provide pretty good insight into what they have the ability to do."

Mr. Barden has little doubt that he'll get the funding.

"He's very confident that this process will come to fruition in a timely manner with the help of the gaming control board staff," Barden spokesman Bob Oltmanns said. "Thirty days from now all of this will be long behind us."

Anne LaCour Neeb, executive director of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, which is reviewing the financing, said she has no information to suggest that Mr. Barden won't get it.

"I don't anticipate a problem selling the notes," she said.

Other casinos in debt

That said, there are no sure bets, given today's credit environment.

For instance, Deustche Bank began foreclosure proceedings in March related to the $3 billion Cosmopolitan casino and resort in Las Vegas after the developer missed payment on a $760 million construction loan when the refinancing fell through.

Yet, despite the woes, construction on the Cosmopolitan has continued uninterrupted.

In Mr. Barden's case, his bid for financing could be compounded, rightly or wrongly, by the financial woes facing his casinos in Indiana, Colorado, and Mississippi. They reported $26.1 million in losses last year and $556.7 million in debt, impairing their ability to make improvements they need to compete.

Mr. Barden has pointed out over and over again that those casinos are completely separate from his Pittsburgh company, PITG Gaming LLC. But the troubles could still make some investors leery, analysts have said.

"Barden's debt structure has been an issue from day one. In today's environment, though, in which affordable financing is very difficult to come by, his situation can be magnified," Mr. Weinert said.

A worst-case scenario would have Mr. Barden losing the financing, in which case he would not have the money to repay the bridge loan, which must be paid off by May 19, or to finish the construction.

But even in such a situation, the gaming board would have a number of options available to maintain the viability of the project. It could ask Mr. Barden to find more investors or put some of his own money into it, said Christopher Craig, legal counsel for state Sen. Vincent Fumo, D-Philadelphia, who helped to write the state's slots law.

Even under the worst circumstances, a license revocation likely would be a last resort, given that the project is under construction and that the state has a large interest in getting the casino up and running to generate tax revenue.

With a revocation, the gaming board most likely would have to put the city's casino out to bid again, triggering another round of applications and public hearings in a process that could stretch more than a year, including potential appeals, Mr. Craig said.

"These are not fast and immediate," he said. "If you want to do it right, this is something that will not happen overnight."

He added that if Mr. Barden were to encounter problems that made it impossible to complete the casino the more probable outcome could be a sale or partial sale of the license, with oversight by the gaming board.

However, such scenarios are not considered realistic at this point.

Ms. Neeb pointed out that the casino is under construction and that Mr. Barden already has a "legal and binding commitment" from Credit Suisse for the $650 million in financing.

Even raising the issue at this point, Ms. Neeb said, "I think is a pretty negative approach to take for someone who is trying really hard to get something off the ground. It seems like everyone's trying to kick him."

Mr. Oltmanns said Mr. Barden is "not going to speculate on what might happen based on circumstances that haven't occurred yet."

"You heard him [last week]. He was very emphatic that this thing will get built. This project will be completed on time," he said. "We're moving ahead as planned. We're working full tilt today, every day there's good weather to get the steel structure completed. We are on schedule and on budget. We plan to open in May 2009."

Although Moody's Investors Service assigned a low credit rating to the casino, it also gave a stable outlook, reflecting confidence in its ultimate success, based on the "favorable demographics" of the Pittsburgh gaming market and the location, which should provide sufficient demand.

Likewise, Mr. Weinert said, it is not unusual for casino projects to experience trouble before or during construction. In most cases, that doesn't diminish the potential for success.

"With many casino projects, there's a rocky path to the finish line but, ultimately, they get there and are very successful, attractive projects," he said.

Gaming board vote coming

The gaming board has postponed a vote on Mr. Barden's proposed financing until after a public hearing May 14, only five days before he needs to pay off the $200 million bridge loan. He hopes to close on the $800 million in permanent financing the same day, May 19.

Besides the Credit Suisse financing, he plans to borrow another $150 million from a syndicate of lenders arranged by Cleveland-based KeyBank. That borrowing is backed by the police and fire and general retirement systems of the city of Detroit.

Mr. Barden also needs gaming board approval to make two multimillion-dollar changes to the North Shore project. He is seeking to delay the construction of a $4.5 million ballroom and a $3.5 million outdoor amphitheater for two and three years after opening, respectively.

While Mr. Barden also had petitioned the gaming board to drop a $3 million commitment to Hill District redevelopment, he has since said he would honor it, although he has extended the timetable for the funding from three years to five years. The time extension would need the board's approval, gaming board spokesman Richard McGarvey said.

At a hearing last month, gaming board chairwoman Mary DiGiacomo Colins voiced concern about the proposed changes. She said the ballroom, amphitheater and $3 million Hill investment were key components that made Mr. Barden's bid for the slots license stand out over those of two competitors.

Whether the gaming board will honor Mr. Barden's requests for changes remains to be seen.

Mr. Craig said the gaming board has a lot of latitude in dealing with such issues. It has the power to impose fines, sanctions and additional conditions on the project if a casino owner refuses to adhere to its terms.

On the most extreme side, if the board were uncomfortable with proposed changes to a project or the ability of an operator to adhere to the conditions of the license, it could revoke it.

Mr. Craig said that would be a "rather draconian remedy" in Mr. Barden's case given the type of requests he has made. Even with the requests to defer certain aspects of the casino, the board has a vested interest in moving the project along, he noted.

Given that Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato support the change in the timetable for the funding for the Hill, there's a good chance the board will approve the extension, Ms. Neeb said.

If the terms are reasonable and the parties to the agreement support it, "it's kind of hard to say we're not going to do this," she said.

As for the delays in finishing the ballroom and outdoor amphitheater, "What we're trying to determine is if this is in the best interest of the project going forward," she said.