An 11th-hour pullout by the project's European backers almost doomed the yet-to-be-named venture, developers said, but they managed to pull together the $50 million licensing fee in time.

"The (Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board) has done a fabulous job in constructing this application so they can weed out the unfavorable candidates and have a casino in Pennsylvania," project developer Jim Nettleton Jr., a Manheim Township lawyer, said Wednesday.

"It has been a real task for us to keep all of this application together. We hope we are a presentable candidate for a casino in Pennsylvania."

The Lancaster application, which filled a single box, was dwarfed by some others, which filled dozens of boxes.

Nettleton and law partner Jerome Finefrock have been the project's public face in Lancaster, but the proposal has a number of other stakeholders.

Foremost among them is Chris Raphael, a New Jersey-based gaming industry veteran who is the acting CEO of Pennsylvania Gaming Group LLP, an organization formed by the developers to operate the slots parlor.

"The reason we believe it will succeed is the enormous amount of tourists who come in and near Lancaster," Raphael said Wednesday via cell phone from New Jersey.

Raphael said he is CEO of a major casino operation in Atlantic City, but he declined to name which one.

Raphael said he has been involved in gaming for 35 years and held gaming licenses in several countries since the 1970s and 1980s, but he declined to provide more details on his background.

"I'm not going to talk about it at this stage," he said. "All these things are worth leaving unspoken until the state decides to make it public."

Raphael is the largest shareholder in the project. He declined to specify his stake.

Another major party is Nigel White, a certified public accountant from California who was not immediately available for comment Wednesday. Members of White's family also are shareholders, Nettleton said.

Frank McSparren and Mike Etricchione, Connecticut attorneys who helped supply the $50 million bond, also are shareholders, as are Dorian and David Lange of Florida, the children of New York gaming consultant Bernard "Beaux" Lange.

Beaux Lange once was a client of Nettleton's, Nettleton said. Lange got Raphael involved in the project, who in turn brought White onboard, Nettleton said.

As part of the application, developers had to submit detailed floor plans.

The slot machines would be on the second, third and eventually fourth floors of the four-story Bulova building.

The youth-oriented first floor would house arcade games, pool tables and table tennis tables and possibly a Pennsylvania Dutch-style buffet, Nettleton said.

Patrons would need to provide identification upon moving from the first to the second floor to keep minors off the gaming floor, he said.

Plans call for operations to begin with 1,500 slot machines and to be expanded to 5,000 at completion.

Either the second or third floor would house a bar and possibly "a first-class restaurant," he said.

Nettleton said he and Finefrock have been speaking with some local restaurateurs to operate the venue.

One of the upper floors also would be home to a stage for entertainment -- possibly an orchestra or musical theater, Nettleton said.

Outside, the building would include a tower at each corner, and the restaurant would overlook the Stoner Carousel planned for Lancaster Square, he said.

Nettleton said he believes the project has an edge over its competitors because the Bulova building is ready for occupancy. The slots parlor could be up and running within 3 to 4 months of being given a license, he said.

Backers of the Lancaster project are still searching for another city site for the slots parlor.

If a site is found, developers have said the Bulova building would temporarily house the parlor for two years and then be converted into a conference center. The existing attractions besides the slots would remain in the building.

The state will release a list of licensing applicants once all applications are judged to be complete -- probably next week.

The Lancaster project is competing against applicants from Allentown, the Pocono region, Bethlehem, Gettysburg and Pottstown for one of two available slots licenses.