Detroit businessman Don Barden's Majestic Star proposal calls for building a riverfront casino on a 17-acre tract west of Heinz Field. Click drawing for larger version.

The weigh-in begins today, and we're not talking boxing bouts or bass fishing. We're talking about the completed slot machine applications would-be casino owners will be submitting, some of which could weigh a quarter-ton or more.

Though some companies have already turned in theirs, most were putting the finishing touches on their applications for slots licenses up until the final hour. They must be postmarked by today.

Several applicants said they'd be working on their submissions until midday, when the paperwork will either be mailed or hand-delivered to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board in Harrisburg.

"Because of the two companies, we have a lot more to file than others," said Al Ratner, co-chairman of the board of Forest City Enterprises, owner of Station Square. Forest City wants to team with Harrah's on a Station Square casino.

Mr. Ratner, who was flying to New Jersey yesterday to watch his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers take on the New Jersey Nets basketball squad, said he expects his application to be heftier than the one submitted by the Pocono Downs harness racetrack near Wilkes-Barre. That application weighed about 400 pounds -- Forest City's could be twice that.

It'll be the same with that from Donald Trump, who wants to build a casino in north Philadelphia with former Philadelphia 76ers President Pat Croce. Mr. Croce, Boyz II Men singer Nathan Morris and others are scheduled to be on the bus that drops off the Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc. application, which will weigh up to 700 pounds and fill 40 boxes.

Why are the applications so heavy? For the same reason they're arriving at the last minute -- they ask for lots of information, not all of which is readily available and some of which takes weeks to gather.

The application for a racetrack casino, for example, is 66 pages long. It asks whether the applicant has any outstanding tax bills or indictments on his rap sheet. It asks for financial statements, tax returns, pension plans, old business ventures and corporate organization tables. It also asks if the applicant "has made any bribes or kickbacks" in the last decade -- the correct answer is "no." And it asks for four copies of everything.

The applicants must submit, in addition to all of the paperwork, proof of a $50 million credit line.

Jeff Nobers, a vice president with 84 Lumber Co., said the scope of the application had most of the applicants scrambling to meet the two-month deadline -- the most recent round of applications were made available online on Oct. 31. The lumber company's owner, millionaire Joe Hardy, also owns Nemacolin Woodlands, a resort in Fayette County that has its eyes on a casino license.

"Some things are easily accessible," Mr. Nobers said. "It varies from company to company. Those that are already in the gaming industry probably have an easier time than those of us who aren't."

Nemacolin's application is expected to be turned in today, as is the one for MTR Gaming, which is proposing to build a casino on Pittsburgh's North Shore.

John Brabender, a spokesman for MTR, said his group is "taking every moment they can" to complete the application.

He said that some outfits are submitting their applications at the last minute because they'd hoped that the gaming control board would push the slots application deadline back to March.