HARRISBURG -- It could take several months to issue the state's first gaming licenses, but would-be operators already have taken a big gamble.

Some say they spent millions preparing applications for a chance to win one of 14 slots casino licenses.

Nick Hays, spokesman for the gaming control board, would not say how many applications had been filed yesterday, the postmark deadline.

"We're receiving lots and lots of material," he said. "We're keeping it organized and making sure it's all properly logged and that the people delivering it get receipts."

Some applications arrived quietly by courier, while Trump Entertainment pulled up in two buses wrapped in "TrumpStreet Casino and Entertainment Complex" banners. One bus was filled with casino supporters wearing TrumpStreet baseball caps; the other carried application materials and gaming partners, including sports personality Pat Croce and Mayfair restaurateur Pete Ciarrocchi.

"This is all about showbiz and promoting. The Trump group understands that and it wanted even its application to have pizzazz," said Larry Ceisler, a spokesman for Trump Entertainment.

Behind Donald Trump, Mr. Croce -- former owner of the Philadelphia 76ers and current star of the self-help television show "Moving In" -- is the second-biggest investor in the proposed $350 million development project in North Philadelphia.

"This is outrageous, and the opportunity to do something so outrageous excites me," Mr. Croce said as he stepped off the coach bus wearing a TrumpStreet bomber jacket. "I plan to be involved in every part of this process."

He, Trump and other investors already spent "millions" paying more than 100 people to compile a 1,559-pound application. It was delivered yesterday in 28 file boxes and four large silver cases similar to ones roadies use to carry gear to concert venues.

It's a big gamble, Mr. Croce said. His group is one of at least three expected to apply for the two stand-alone casino licenses set aside for Philadelphia.

Mr. Croce isn't worried.

"Working with The Donald and the Trump organization, we're in a good position," he said. "We've got great people and a great site."

He'll need more than that to impress the seven-member Gaming Control Board, which will review each applicant's operating plans, financial backing, criminal background, profit-sharing plan, litigation history, gaming background, annual report, list of vendors, stock holdings and more.

According to the 2004 law providing for the casinos, the gaming board must consider each proposal's potential for job creation, economic development, history of success, promotion of tourism and demand for public transportation and other city services.

Applicants like Mr. Croce believe they'll consider something else, too: politics.

"Politics is involved in every decision ... I'd be foolish to say it isn't," he said. "If it comes down to politics, we won't win. If it comes down to the best application, we'll win."

His chief competition is a team that includes David Sweet, a political ally of Gov. Ed Rendell.

A lot of the other players are probably politically connected, too, said William Thompson, a frequent critic of casinos and a professor of public administration at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas.

"When you limit the number of licenses they become worth so much money that people will do anything to get them and they curry favor by including friends of politicians and former politicians on their investor lists," said Dr. Thompson, author of the 2001 book "Gambling in America: An Encyclopedia."

Mr. Hays says political connections won't matter to the gaming board, which promises a fair process.

The board hired 100 workers to go through the applications, to ensure completeness and to extract confidential information such as Social Security numbers and criminal background checks before making them available publicly.

Applicant Al Ratner, co-owner of Pittsburgh's Station Square, expects the process to be thorough and fair.

"I assume the board will make its selection based on what makes the most sense. The one that offers the most to the city or state should be the one that wins," said Mr. Ratner, who declined to discuss details of the application filed jointly with Harrah's Entertainment.

Mr. Hays expects to release a list of applicants and proposed sites in about a week but will not provide any other information until employees sort through the applications.

"That could take a while," Mr. Hays said. "We're not trying to be evasive but this isn't simple and we want to do it right."

Many applicants, though, already have openly discussed their plans. The Trump group arrived with artists' renderings to display and freely distributed 50-page project summaries detailing everything from the number of jobs that would be created to the kind of upholstery on the casino's furniture.

Others who confirmed they delivered their applications yesterday were:

Tropicana Pennsylvania for a resort casino in Allentown. The limited liability corporation is a subsidiary of Aztar Corp., owner of the Tropicana resort casinos in Atlantic City and Las Vegas.

Ted Arneault for a race track under construction in Erie. Mr. Arneault runs the Mountaineer Race Track & Gaming Resort in northern West Virginia.

Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. for a casino and entertainment complex north of downtown Philadelphia. Pinnacle owns and operates casinos in Nevada, Louisiana, Indiana and Argentina.

Millionaire Joe Hardy, who owns 84 Lumber Co., for a casino at Nemacolin Woods, a resort in Fayette County.

At least two applicants filed before yesterday's deadline, including the operators of Pocono Downs harness racetrack near Wilkes-Barre and Scranton businessman Louis DeNaples who wants to convert a closed Pocono Mountains resort into a casino and hotel.

At least 10 others were expected to apply, too.

In the Pittsburgh area:

The Penguins and Isle of Capri Casinos were expected to file a joint application for a $1 billion gambling and entertainment venture in the lower Hill District.

Alco Parking owner Merrill Stabile was expected to apply for a casino across from PNC Park.

Casino developer Don Barden was expected to apply for a site between Carnegie Science Center and the West End Bridge.

Six sites currently licensed for horse racing, including The Meadows in Washington County, will automatically receive casino licenses as long as the gaming board finds no significant problems in criminal and financial disclosures.

The location of a seventh and final racetrack hasn't been settled. Competing developers, one in Beaver County and one in Lawrence County, have filed court appeals over the Harness Racing Commission's denial of both their racing applications last month.

Of the remaining licenses, two are designated to go to resort casinos and five to stand-alone casinos, including one stand-alone in Pittsburgh and two in Philadelphia.

The track licenses could be awarded by summer while the others could take much longer, Mr. Hays said. Once all applications are deemed to be complete, the board has one year to award the stand-alone licenses, all to be announced at the same time.