But whether Lady Luck will smile upon their venture remains to be seen.

The project will have to clear a series of local and state hurdles before the first one-armed bandit can arrive.

"My first thought was ... 'It's never going to happen in Lancaster,' " city Councilman John Graupera said Wednesday night.

"The Lancaster community is too conservative and traditional. No way they're going to allow this to happen."

Graupera, however, said he hasn't decided for himself whether the project is a blessing or a bane.

"I'm not against it, and I'm not for it yet," he said. "I'm just learning, and I'm sure we'll be hearing a lot more about it."

Manheim Township law partners Jerome C. Finefrock and Jim A. Nettleton Jr. have proposed a $150 million slots parlor for the corner of North Queen and Orange streets.

The two are working with Blackford Development Ltd.-- which has an option to purchase the building -- and business partners from New York and New Jersey.

Nettleton said the idea was first proposed by one of Finefrock's former clients in July 2004, when Pennsylvania passed legislation allowing expanded state gambling.

"I think (the proposed slots parlor) fits like a glove; maybe not today with what we do have (in Lancaster), but what about in five years?" Nettleton said. "I don't think you can close out that question."

Nettleton said the proposed parlor would include up to 5,000 slot machines, create 1,200 to 1,500 local jobs and generate up to $10 million of revenue for the city every year.

It would not include table games such as poker, and would be the only facility of its kind in the area.

"It's not going to be another Atlantic City," Nettleton said.

Tour buses would be parked off-site, he said, but he anticipates building a 10-story garage to accommodate the parlor's expected 10,000 visitors per day if it is built.

"I don't have a location for that," he said of the garage. "It will be within a block or two."

The Bulova building also would house restaurants for the parlor's clientele, and Nettleton said he and his partners are considering adding a "Las Vegas-style" entertainment facility, which he said would provide only "clean" fare.

That would be located either within the Bulova building or at a nearby site, he said.

If it gets the go-ahead, the group also is considering building an overhead moving sidewalk connecting the proposed hotel/convention center on Penn Square with the Bulova Building.

Nettleton said he had not yet discussed the moving sidewalk proposal with the developers of the hotel and convention center.

"We think this will be the completing element; this ought to make the convention center happen, and I think it will," Nettleton said.

The group also has not completed renderings of the project or compiled a full list of specifications.

"There are a lot of questions here yet," Nettleton said.

The proposal will run along two parallel tracks for approval.

First, the project must go before the city's zoning hearing board Jan. 9 to apply for "a special exception to operate a game room with more than two mechanical and/or electronic amusement devices."

Because the developers are applying for an exception rather than a zoning change, the action does not have to be approved by City Council.

Those unhappy with the board's ruling which probably will not be made on Dec. 9, according to city zoning officer Walt Siderio -- will be able to appeal.

One of the reasons the developers chose the site is because it does not require an outright zoning change, Nettleton said.

His group visited numerous potential sites in Lancaster, but Nettleton said "everything is in place for us" at the 250,000-square-foot Bulova building.

The group also must receive a license from the state Gaming Commission to run the slots parlor.

Nettleton said he has yet to complete the 66-page application required by the state.

All projects must file their applications for licenses by Dec. 28, after which a list of the applicants will be made public.

As of Wednesday, at least three other ventures had applied for the two available licenses for parlors such as the one proposed for Lancaster.

The Gaming Commission will then investigate the applicants to ensure their proposed facilities would be "safe, enjoyable and profitable," said Nick Hays, the commission's communications director.

As part of the investigation, the commission will hold public forums on the project, he said.

"If (the project) is not well-received in the community, it's not going to be profitable," Hays said.

The commission has one year, with the clock starting on Dec. 28, to release its decisions.

The license for the parlor costs $50 million, and paying for the state's licensing investigation will likely cost between $15 and $20 million, Nettleton said.

He said his group has raised the capital privately and is in negotiations with two casino management companies he declined to name.

The front-runner is an international company and the other company is based in Los Angeles, he said.

In addition to the official approvals, Nettleton and Finefrock have a bevy of curious and skeptical public officials to convince of the project's merits.

Mayor-elect Rick Gray said he wants to find out what the people of Lancaster think about the proposal.

"I'm not definitely opposed and I'm not strongly supportive (of the proposal)," he said. "I'm going to weigh the pros and cons."

He said the considerable monetary gains the city stands to reap need to be considered along with the potential social ills gambling might bring.

One thing Gray said he strongly objects to is the parlor's proposed location.

"It's going to totally change the character of the historic city center to put the casino in the middle (of it)," Gray said. "Frankly, I've got problems with that and I'm going to need a lot of convincing."

Gray said he considers whether Lancaster city should have a gambling parlor and whether that gambling parlor should be located in the Bulova building to be two separate questions.

City Councilman Nelson Polite said he does not believe a slots parlor is the best use for the Bulova building -- but that's not the only reason he objects to the proposal.

"The tax incentives and job opportunities are very enticing, but we don't need another dynamite thing like the convention center to divide the community," he said.

Like Gray, Councilwoman Julianne Dickson said she wants to take the public's pulse on the issue.

"Part of what's difficult in the decision is the dollars (the parlor would) generate to relieve our taxpayers," she said. "They will have to tell us if they want that relief and that this is the kind of thing they are willing to put in the center of the downtown."

Polite, Dickson and Graupera all said they first heard of the proposal Wednesday.

"I certainly hope in this next administration and City Council that an announcement of this sort won't come out before the folks who are responsible for making the decisions have an opportunity to work through the process," Dickson said.

State Rep. Scott Boyd, a Republican from Lampeter, was critical of how outgoing Mayor Charlie Smithgall handled the situation.

Smithgall said he and state Sen. Gib Armstrong (R-Refton) have known "for a long time" about the parlor proposal.

"I understand (Finefrock and Nettleton) have had conversations with the mayor and there was nary a word to any of us," Boyd said.

"Clearly, somebody has an agenda, and they didn't want to let us know who would certainly oppose this."

Smithgall defended his actions.

"When people came to me and say this is in the strictest of confidences, then it's the strictest of confidences," he said.

As for his opinion on whether the slots parlor would be a good thing for Lancaster, Smithgall said he'd rather not comment until he steps down as mayor at the end of December.

"That's a question the (incoming administration) will have to decide," he said "I mean, $10 million cash for the city every year. There's a whole lot of things to be considered. I'm going to stay out of it."

Intell reporter Dave Pidgeon contributed to this article.