It was the best of three offers in the third mini-casino auction to date, besting bids by Parx Casino in suburban Philadelphia - controlled by London-based businessman Watche Manoukian - and the Las Vegas Sands-owned Sands Casino Resort in Bethlehem. Vincent Jordan, Mount Airy's vice president of marketing and gaming operations, said executives there had not settled on a final location in Lawrence County, but called the area home to 'a lot of people, a lot of opportunity.' Mount Airy, owned by the family of billionaire founder Louis DeNaples, submitted a winning bid Thursday of nearly $21.2 million - $21,188,888.88 to be exact. The family that owns northeastern Pennsylvania's Mount Airy Casino Resort won the rights Thursday to build a mini-casino on the opposite side of the state along the Ohio border, an area that has tried for years to land a casino project.
