HARRISBURG -- So far, wealthy Chicago developer Neil Bluhm hasn't found much love in the City of Brotherly Love.

Mr. Bluhm is a major force behind the proposed $650 million SugarHouse casino, which is to be built on the site of a former sugar refinery along the Delaware River, a couple miles north of Center City.

Even though SugarHouse received a coveted slots license from the state Gaming Control Board in December 2006, not one spadeful of earth has been turned to build either it or the other licensed Philadelphia casino, Foxwoods, which is also to be built along the Delaware riverfront, two miles south of Center City. No one knows when the dirt will begin flying on either project.

Although casino developer Don Barden has run into some serious problems of his own in Pittsburgh, the developers of SugarHouse and Foxwoods would swap their problems for his in a heartbeat.

At least the steel is going up for Mr. Barden's casino and it's still expected to open next summer. The developers of SugarHouse and Foxwoods don't know when they can begin construction or when they'll be open for business. Most people don't think they'll open before 2011.

The 2004 slots law allowed for five non-racetrack casinos. Mt. Airy opened for gambling last year in the Poconos and the Sands Bethworks is now under construction at a former Bethlehem Steel Co. site in the Lehigh Valley. Like Barden's Majestic Star in Pittsburgh, it's expected to open next summer.

So what's the problem in Philadelphia? Strong protests by neighborhood groups complaining the two sites are too close to houses, schools and places of worship have kept the casinos from getting necessary zoning and construction approvals.

There's also a dispute over "riparian rights,'' a term for allowing SugarHouse to build part of its project out into the Delaware riverbed. State legislators have argued with city officials about who has the authority to grant such permission and who gets the development fees.

The politicians have been listening to the protesters. Mayor Michael Nutter, some City Council members and some state legislators, including even pro-casino Sen. Vincent Fumo, a South Philadelphia Democrat, have expressed concerns about the current casino locations.

Another potential hurdle cropped up last week. Mr. Fumo and another powerful Philadelphia Democrat, Rep. Dwight Evans, wrote Gov. Ed Rendell asking for his help in setting up a new committee to find completely different locations for the two casinos.

"It would be in the best interest of Philadelphia, its residents, state taxpayers and the casinos themselves if they were to move to a new location,'' Mr. Fumo and Mr. Evans contended.

On Friday Mr. Rendell said he will meet with the developers to discuss moving the projects from their planned sites, but he did not agree with Mr. Fumo's assertion that he would "jawbone" the developers "to get them to see the light," the Associated Press reported.

Mr. Rendell said he would "make a good-faith effort to explore the potential benefits of re-siting, but nobody should get too excited. The only way these casinos can be legally re-sited is if the casinos voluntarily agree."

The casino developers say they were properly sited by the state Gaming Control Board, as called for by the 2004 slots law, and any effort to move the sites will just further delay their opening.

Foxwoods "hopes we can build at the designated site'' along the river, said spokeswoman Maureen Garrity. She said Foxwoods officials "looked at sites all over Pennsylvania, not just Philadelphia,'' before picking its site.

"It's a great site, near the bridges to New Jersey and near the Philadelphia stadiums,'' she said. She is hoping construction can begin by the end of the year, but Foxwoods still needs city zoning and construction permits, and may go to court to force the city to issue them.

Fumo spokesman Gary Tuma said his boss still wants the two Philadelphia casinos to be built, "but he believes the two chosen locations are inappropriate because they are too close to neighborhoods.''

Mayor Nutter is also concerned about too much traffic on local streets near the casinos, especially Columbus Boulevard, also known as Delaware Avenue.

Some Philadelphia officials think one or both casinos would be better sited near the Philadelphia International Airport. But any effort to change the location of such large buildings and the traffic they'll generate will almost certainly further delay ground-breaking.

Last week, the Philadelphia Neighborhood Alliance called for moving both casinos "off the Delaware waterfront and away from residential neighborhoods.'' It said the Delaware "gave birth to Philadelphia and determined its development.''

Citizens are angry that the 2004 slots law granted the state Gaming Board sole power to decide where the state's casinos would be built, and gave affected localities little to say about it.

The gaming law "effectively denied Philadelphia citizens the right to determine the way in which their riverfront and city was to be development,'' the Neighborhood Alliance complained.

Meanwhile, state legislators from areas where casinos are up and operating -- and thus contributing to a $700 million fund for statewide property tax relief -- are insisting that Philadelphia gets its casinos open so that more money will flow into that fund.

"Philadelphia is not contributing to the fund,'' said Rep. Bob Godshall, a Republican from nearby Delaware County, where the Harrah's Chester racetrack/casino is operating, about 10 miles south of Philadelphia.

The failure of the Philadelphia casinos to produce tax relief funds "is robbing the rest of us,'' he said.