The Valley Forge area, already bustling with hotels, conference centers, and traffic, learned yesterday that it will be home to Pennsylvania's 12th slots casino.

A group led by real estate titan Ira Lubert won approval for a casino of 500 slot machines in the Valley Forge Convention Center. The license was the first of two resort permits to be issued by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, which intends to issue 14 of them. The resort license limits the casino to 500 slot machines.

The investors will spend $107 million on the project. A spokesman for the group estimated the casino could be built and operating within a year.