Jerome C. Finefrock and James A. Nettleton Jr., partners in a Manheim Township law firm, were relaxing this morning after hand-delivering their gaming license application in Harrisburg Wednesday afternoon, capping several frantic days.

“It’s been a real crunch to get this together,” Nettleton said.

“We did it,” he added.

But the work is just beginning.

Ahead is preparing for a Jan. 9 hearing before the Lancaster City zoning hearing board and continuing talks for an alternate site for the casino.

In addition, the state application still has some loose ends.

“It was a broad-brush approach in many ways,” Finefrock said.

One impending change to the application could be a drop in the number of slot machines for the Bulova Technologies building at North Queen and Orange streets.

Finefrock said architectural drawings, which they received Wednesday afternoon, show the building could only hold roughly 3,000 slots in the building, down from the 5,000 machines in the original proposal.

An entertainment stage on one of the upper floors eats up some of the space that had been slated for slot machines.

The change would cut the total pricetag for the project from $150 million to $130 million. It would also limit the number of jobs from 1,500 to 1,200, Finefrock said.

The state gaming commission will decide if the Lancaster applicants will receive one of two available licenses to operate a stand-alone casino outside of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

The state hopes to release a list of license applicants next week.

Applicants will be judged on a number of criteria, said Nick Hays, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.

These include how enjoyable and profitable their proposed casino would be, how reputable, experienced and suitable the operators are, and the diversity of the casino’s staff and suppliers.

Beyond the applicant’s qualifications and plan, another factor in the board’s decision-making process will be public input, he said today.

“We will have some sort of public forums,” said Hays. “We have not determined the exact format...

“People will be able to speak their minds, pro or con, concerning the proposals for their area. The input we gather at those forums becomes part of the record that the board considers,” he said.

It’s not known when the board will make its decision, according to Hays.

The board has 12 months to choose the recipients after it deems all applications to be complete, but it’s unclear when the board will be able to start that 12-month clock.

So far, said Hays, the board has received 600 boxes of materials from applicants, who had to have their applications postmarked or delivered by Wednesday.

More paperwork from applicants are expected shortly at the 100-employee board’s offices, as the postmarked materials arrive.

“They’re going to be very busy for the next few months,” said Hays.

Locally, the project must go before the city’s zoning hearing board to apply for “a special exception to operate a game room with more than two mechanical and/or electronic amusement devices.”

“Nothing extraordinary, though it is going to be a circus,” Finefrock said.

Because the developers are applying for an exception rather than a zoning change for the Bulova building, the action does not have to be approved by city council.

However, the backers are still searching for another city site for the proposed slots parlor.

They have focused a few alternate sites, including the Burle Industries property on New Holland Pike, the Lancaster Stockyards along Marshall Avenue and the former Kemps Foods on Hempstead Road, in addition to another industrial site near Kemps Foods. These possible sites, however, would need city council’s approval because they would all require zoning changes.

Finefrock said an announcement to select an alternate site could be made in the next few weeks.

Wednesday’s application names the 11 partners with a stake in the newly formed Pennsylvania Gaming Group, LLP, which would operate the slots parlor.

Chris Raphael, a New Jersey-based gaming industry veteran, will be the group’s chief executive officer. He has a 55.08 percent stake in the company.

Another major party is Nigel White, a certified public accountant from California, who has a 4.9 percent stake. Three members of White’s family each have 4.9 percent shares.

Shareholders with a 5 percent share must submit additional financial forms.

Dorian and David Lange of Florida, the children of New York gaming consultant Bernard “Beaux” Lange, each have 4.9 percent shares, as do Finefrock and Nettleton.

Frank McSparren and Mike Etricchione, Connecticut attorneys, each have a 2.5 percent share in the company.

(Staff writer Tim Mekeel contributed to this report.)