Cordish, chairman and CEO of Cordish Cos. Local would-be competitor SugarHouse Casino had filed an appeal against Live! Casino and Hotel Philadelphia, challenging the ownership.īut on Thursday, Governor Tom Wolf repealed the 2004 ownership restriction, thereby making SugarHouse’s appeal moot. But until Thursday, Pennsylvania had an ownership restriction on casinos that prohibited owners from having stake in more than one casino. Live! Casino and Hotel Philadelphia, proposed for South Philly near all of the stadiums, is partially owned by Watche 'Bob' Manoukian, who also owns a casino in Bensalem. A casino and hotel project that’s long been in the works has cleared its latest legal hurdle, meaning the project could begin construction in South Philly as early as next year.