HARRISBURG -- The Pittsburgh and Allegheny County Sports & Exhibition Authority and the Rivers Casino have one more week to try to settle a funding dispute before state gaming regulators may jump in and settle it.

The SEA wants the casino, by Oct. 1, to begin making annual payments of $7.5 million for the next 30 years, so money can be paid to the investors who bought the bonds being used to finance construction of the new Penguins arena. Such payments to bondholders are to begin this fall, said SEA lawyer Robert Graci.

However, Rivers Casino officials think their deal with the SEA permits the $7.5 million annual payments to start in 2010 or even 2012, casino lawyer John Donnelly told the Gaming Control Board today.

He said the casino plans to open by mid-August, which doesn't leave much time to earn profits before Oct. 1. He said the casino isn't trying to get out of its agreement to make 30 years of bond payments, it just wants to start the payments later than Oct. 1.

The two sides have different interpretations of an agreement approved by the Gaming Board on Aug. 18, 2008, when Holdings Acquisition Co., led by Chicago developer Neil Bluhm, took over the Pittsburgh casino project from Don Barden, who couldn't get the necessary financing. The SEA thought the payments would start by September or October of 2009, while the casino officials thought it would be later.

"Both sides should go back to the bargaining table and do their darnedest to get this thing resolved,'' said gaming board member Sanford Rivers of Pittsburgh. "It disappoints me that we've taken two hours today to discuss this. Allegheny County and the city of Pittsburgh need the revenue from that casino. The two parties should come up with a satisfactory compromise that both sides can live with.''

The board told the authority and the casino to report back by next Wednesday. If no progress has been made on setting a date for the first $7.5 million payment to the SEA, the board may impose a date, although Mr. Donnelly said he didn't think the board had the authority to do that.

Mr. Donnelly said he didn't think the dispute over the $7.5 million payment would delay the opening of the casino.