The Majestic Star on Pittsburgh's North Shore was to be the crown jewel of Don Barden's casino fleet. Now, it won't even bear the Majestic Star name.

Yesterday, Mr. Barden officially signed away majority ownership of the casino operation, surrendering 75 percent control to billionaire Neil Bluhm, his Walton Street Capital and a group of other investors. They intend to rename the casino, perhaps via a contest.

The deal formalized yesterday was first detailed last Thursday -- Mr. Bluhm's outfit will invest $120 million in emergency cash to leverage $650 million in borrowing from Credit Suisse First Boston and Key Bank. It was the culmination of a warp-speed negotiation that began less than a month ago.

By the end of June, Mr. Barden was desperate for cash -- he hadn't paid his builders for two months, and would soon announce plans to scale back some of the outdoor amenities to save money. That's when the primary contractor, Dan Keating of Keating Building Corp., put Mr. Barden in touch with Mr. Bluhm and Ira Lubert of Lubert-Adler, a Philadelphia-based private equity fund.

Mr. Bluhm is a majority investor in the proposed SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia -- Mr. Keating is also invested in that project -- and had scouted Pittsburgh properties before.

Mr. Barden's financial duress provided Mr. Bluhm and company another opportunity to enter the Pittsburgh market. They met in Chicago during the last week of June, and by June 30, had a deal in principle. For the next two weeks, lawyers scrambled to lay out the final version of the deal.

Negotiations shifted into overdrive Sunday and Monday, as the principals were in conference calls with Gov. Ed Rendell and his chief of staff, state Rep. Dwight Evans, D-Philadelphia, Rep. Jake Wheatley, D-Hill District, Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board member Jeff Coy, and others, seeking guidance, input and assurances that the deal could pass muster with the state.

State officials also wanted assurances that the new ownership group would keep the financial promises Mr. Barden had made to Pittsburgh.

The end result is a new company, Pittsburgh Gaming Holdings LLC, which will take the place of Mr. Barden's PITG Gaming.

The deal creating Pittsburgh Gaming Holdings -- comprising Walton Street Capital, High Pitt Gaming and Mr. Barden, who now will own 25 percent of the casino -- still requires ratification from the state gaming control board.

If the gaming board approves the transfer of casino ownership, and financing is secured thereafter, construction could resume immediately, said Greg Carlin, Pittsburgh Gaming chief executive officer.

"The subcontractors are ready to go back to work as soon as we close the transaction," he said.

Though it was reported that construction had stopped at the Majestic Star site, Mr. Carlin said a skeleton crew has remained on site, continuing limited work and accepting deliveries.

The deal comes two days after Sens. Jane Orie, R-McCandless, and Jim Ferlo, D-Highland Park, sent a letter to the gaming board, asking it to hit the reset button on the Pittsburgh endeavor. They said the deal moved too fast, and that Mr. Barden shouldn't be allowed to hand over majority ownership without first seeking the input of public officials and community leaders.

They want the gaming board to revoke Mr. Barden's license.

In a response yesterday, Frank Donaghue, acting director of the gaming board, wrote:

"Rather than 'hastily approving' any financial restructuring of the PITG Gaming LLC project, the board has directed staff to fully and completely review all matters related to the proposed restructuring so that staff can provide a fully informed opinion and recommendation to the Board at the required public hearing on the matter."

Also yesterday, Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said he had a "relatively positive" phone conversation with Mr. Bluhm and others from Walton Street Capital, in which the firm agreed to meet all of the pledges made by Mr. Barden.

The governor, in a news release, said: "It's welcome news that Don Barden has found partners who will add financial stability to this important economic development project for Pittsburgh's North Shore. The new dollars will help return construction workers to the site and put this venture back on schedule" for its spring 2009 opening.

Mr. Barden could not be reached yesterday.