HARRISBURG -- Nearly 19 months after winning Pittsburgh's sole slots license on his birthday, Don Barden is giving up control of his North Shore casino as part of a deal to secure a critical piece of financing.

Mr. Barden is surrendering control to Walton Street Capital Fund 6, an investment firm co-founded by Chicago billionaire Neil Bluhm, and affiliated investors under an arrangement detailed before the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board yesterday.

As part of the deal, Walton Street and affiliated investors will hold a 75 percent interest in the casino. Mr. Barden will be left with 25 percent, although he will have a chance to increase his share in the future.

Walton Street ended up with the majority stake by providing a $120 million equity investment in the project. It entered the picture only two weeks ago, after Mr. Barden repeatedly was unable to secure the last piece of financing needed for the $780 million casino. He needed to complete the financing quickly because he was in default of a $200 million loan used to start construction.

Construction has been suspended since June 30, after Mr. Barden failed to deliver a $10 million payment to contractors for work performed in April. Mr. Bluhm and Mr. Barden said yesterday they hoped to get work rolling again by mid-July after closing on the deal and a group of loans totaling more than $600 million.

The latest deal is bittersweet for Mr. Barden, who shocked many in Pittsburgh and the gambling world by winning the license for the city's casino in December 2006 over two better known and well-financed opponents.

Mr. Barden expressed disappointment yesterday in losing control over the casino, which was to be the flagship of his Majestic Star chain. Now Majestic Star probably won't even be part of the name. But Mr. Barden also said he was proud that he was able to get construction started.

The casino is scheduled to be completed in May.

"You can't have everything in life that you want. Sometimes things don't work out and unfortunately circumstances in the world and in this country, of course, changed," Mr. Barden said.

He added that a combination of lawsuits that held up the project for nearly a year and deteriorating financial markets forced his hand. Because of the time it took to resolve appeals filed by the losing bidders and by the Pirates and Steelers over traffic-related issues, "I missed the financial window," he said.

Mr. Bluhm, who also is chairman of HSP Gaming, which won the state license to build the SugarHouse casino in Philadelphia, said Mr. Barden was not at fault for delays in securing financing.

"You have the biggest banks in the world struggling today. So to put together a $750 million -- actually it's closer to $800 million -- project in this environment is extremely difficult, whether it's Bear Stearns or Don Barden," he said.

The change in ownership won't affect the $7.5 million commitment for 30 years that Mr. Barden made to help finance the new arena, officials said. Walton Street also will honor Mr. Barden's pledges to the Hill District and the Northside Leadership Conference.

Mr. Bluhm said the group also will build a 1,000-seat outdoor amphitheater, boat docks and access trails as part of the casino construction. Mr. Barden had proposed to defer those amenities for three years, drawing fire from the Riverlife Task Force and some politicians.

In a statement yesterday, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato said they want a briefing from the Gaming Control Board about the changes and how they will affect the casino construction timeline and funding for the arena.

"We are concerned about the recent issues regarding the casino, its ownership and finances. The residents of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County deserve to be informed about any changes in ownership or commitments made by the licensee," they said.

The proposed ownership group has a working name of Holdings Acquisition Co. LP, but that likely will change. Walton Street will serve as the lead investor but others will include Mr. Bluhm's family members, Greg Carlin, who oversees Bluhm gambling interests and will serve as chief executive officer of the new company, and Ira Lubert of Lubert Adler, a Philadelphia-based private equity fund.

Mr. Bluhm said his share will be less than 1 percent and would not conflict with a provision in state gaming law that bars one casino owner from owning more than one-third of another Pennsylvania slots parlor.

Managing the company will be Mr. Barden, Mr. Carlin, Mr. Bluhm and his son, Andrew.

At a public hearing, gaming board members pressed Mr. Bluhm and Mr. Barden to complete the transaction as quickly as possible to get construction moving again.

"It's time to put some finality to this," board member Jeffrey Coy said, adding the project was "sorely in need of credibility."

Mr. Bluhm said Walton Street and related investors and Mr. Barden have an agreement in principle and should execute the transaction today. The parties hope to close on the other two major pieces of financing involving Credit Suisse and KeyBank by Tuesday or Wednesday. Two Detroit pension funds have agreed to guarantee part of the financing.

Mr. Bluhm described the Pittsburgh project, as conceived by Mr. Barden, as first rate. He said he was confident it would generate enough money to pay construction debt and be successful. He predicted that Pittsburghers would like the finished product.

"Sometimes a little patience pays off and you end up with a great product. That's what they'll end up with as soon as we close on this transaction," he said.