Don Barden will lay out his latest plan for financing the North Shore casino before the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board on Thursday.

The gaming board has scheduled a public hearing on the $780 million package that day, spokesman Richard McGarvey said this morning. Mr. Barden is expected to attend the public hearing.

Mr. Barden has been rushing to complete the financing since June 30, when construction stopped at the casino site near the Carnegie Science Center after he failed to come up with a $10 million payment to contractors for work performed in April. The same day, Mr. Barden reached a deal with Walton Street Capital Fund 6, headed by Chicago billionaire Neil Bluhm, for a $120 million equity investment, representing the last piece of financing. He also has arranged more than $600 million in loans from international lender Credit Suisse. Mr. Barden has yet to close on the financing.

"There has been discussion back and forth. We are in constant contact. All the lawyers felt that they had moved far enough forward in the process that we can schedule a hearing for it," Mr. McGarvey said.

At this point, Mr. Bluhm is not scheduled to attend, he said.

It's unclear whether Mr. Barden's request to delay certain casino-related riverfront amenities, including a 1,000-seat outdoor amphitheater, will be part of the hearing. The gaming board has yet to see a formal petition from Mr. Barden and doesn't know whether the delay will be part of it. But even if it isn't, board members can bring up the subject, Mr. McGarvey said.