The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board is reminding interested parties for the remaining Category 2 slot machine license that only three weeks remain to submit completed applications to its Harrisburg office. The application and instructions are available on the Board’s website at www.gamingcontrolboard.pa.gov.
Board Chairman William H. Ryan, Jr. says all applications and supporting materials must be physically delivered by the close of business on November 15, 2012 to the agency’s Harrisburg office. The PGCB offices are located at 303 Walnut Street in the Strawberry Square complex.
“The submission of applications is the start of a significant process by the Board to gage the suitability of the applicants to hold a gaming license in Pennsylvania,” Ryan says. “It is therefore imperative that applicants provide all required information to our Bureau of Licensing by the deadline.”
All supporting documents with appendices must be submitted in both a hard copy and electronic format as the instructions on the Board’s web site direct.
Applicants should be aware that a public version of the application, including attachments, will be made available to the public when all received applications are determined to be complete. To aid in the process, applicants must also submit a hard copy version that redacts any information that is protected as confidential under the Race Horse Development and Gaming Act. A final decision on the validity of redacted items, however, will be determined after review of the application.
Ryan says the Board is committed to providing information regarding each proposed casino project to the public to enable those who may be affected by the project to be fully informed.
“A key element in this process will be the collection by the Board of both oral and written comments from both supporters and opponents of each proposed project,” Ryan says.
Ryan says the Board will announce when the period of public comment, including public hearings in Philadelphia, will be scheduled.
Background
The Pennsylvania Race Horse Development and Gaming Act permits the Board to award up to five Category 2 slot machine operator licenses, with at least two of those being in the City of Philadelphia. The Board awarded two such licenses to Philadelphia applicants in December 2006. One of the Philadelphia awards was to HSP Gaming, LP, which opened the SugarHouse Casino in September 2010. The second award was made to Philadelphia Entertainment & Development Partners, LP which intended to open the Foxwoods Casino Philadelphia. That license holder, however, was unable to construct and open that casino, and the Board revoked the license in December 2010. Following court appeals, the revocation decision was upheld in March of this year.
About the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board:
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board was established in 2004 with the passage of Act 71, also known as the Race Horse Development and Gaming Act. Pennsylvania’s first new state agency in nearly 30 years, the Gaming Control Board is tasked to oversee all aspects of the state’s casino industry. The 11 casinos in operation all offer both slot machine and table game gambling, employ over 16,000 people, and collectively generate an average of $4 million per day in tax revenue. A portion of that money is used for property tax reduction to all Pennsylvania homeowners; provide funds to the Commonwealth’s horse racing industry, fire companies, a statewide water and sewer project grant program, and the state’s General Fund; and, established a new stream of tax revenue to local governments that host casinos for community projects.
A wealth of information about the Gaming Control Board’s regulatory efforts and Pennsylvania’s gaming industry can be found at www.gamingcontrolboard.pa.gov. At this website, visitors can watch Board meetings live or view videos of past meetings, look up future meeting schedules and past meeting transcripts, obtain information on identifying a gambling problem and gaining assistance, access an interactive map of casino locations, request a speaker for their group, along with much more information. You can also follow the agency on Twitter by choosing @PAGamingControl.\
