PA Gaming Control Board Adds April 7 May 17 Hearings On Gettysburg-area Proposal

HARRISBURG: Because of overwhelming public interest in a gaming facility proposed for Adams County, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board has added two days of public-input hearings on the application, Anne LaCour Neeb, Executive Director of the PGCB, said today.

These hearings – on Friday April 7, 2006, and Wednesday May 17, 2006 – will be in addition to the April 5, 2006, hearing previously scheduled on this proposal.

“Public input is a critical part of the licensing process, and the Gaming Control Board is committed to ensuring that people across Pennsylvania have an opportunity for their views to become part of the permanent record the Board considers when deciding which proposals are approved for licensure,” Neeb said.

“The Board received timely registrations from almost 1,100 individuals, community organizations, local governments and applicants statewide, including 192 for the Adams County proposal,” she added. “To ensure an opportunity to be heard, we have added three days to the original 13-day schedule.”

The newly scheduled April 7 hearing will take place at the State Museum, on Third and North streets, in Harrisburg. The newly scheduled May 17 hearing will take place at the Gettysburg College Student Union Building in the 200 block of West Lincoln Avenue in Gettysburg.

The newly scheduled hearings will begin promptly at 8:30 a.m. with a video of the presentation that the applicant made at the initial April 5 hearing at the Gettysburg College Student Union Building so those who could not attend the initial hearing may view the presentation before giving their testimony, Neeb said.
Because of the volume of public interest, additional hearings are also being scheduled on proposals in Pittsburgh and the Lehigh Valley.

Registrants are being notified by mail of the additional dates and the hearing at which they will have an opportunity to testify, Neeb said. Those who cannot attend these hearings may submit written comments for inclusion in the evidentiary record that will have a weight equal to testimony presented in person. A copy of the comment-submission form and instructions for filing it are included in the mail notification to registrants.

People who submit written comments will have until June 2, 2006, to send their comments by mail to the Gaming Control Board for inclusion in the evidentiary record, Neeb said.

The mailing address for written comments is:
Office of the Clerk
Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board
PO Box 69060
Harrisburg, PA 17106

All other rules and procedures governing the hearings remain as originally announced, Neeb said. For further details, visit the Gaming Control Board’s Web site, www.pgcb.state.pa.us, and click on the “Public-Input Hearings” button.

Overall, there are now 16 days of hearings scheduled for nine locations across the Commonwealth, Neeb added. The Gaming Control Board is considering 22 applications for the 14 gaming licenses authorized by Act 71 of 2004.

The full schedule of hearings and applications to be considered at each are as follows, with new dates noted. All hearings begin promptly at 8:30 a.m. unless noted.

    • April 5, Gettysburg, Gettysburg College (Crossroads Gaming)
    • April 6, Harrisburg, State Museum (Mountainview)
    (NOTE: This hearing begins at 1 p.m.)
    • NEW DATE April 7, Harrisburg, State Museum (Crossroads Gaming)
    • April 10-12, Philadelphia, Drexel University (HSP Gaming; Philadelphia Entertainment & Development; PNK (Pa), LLC; Riverwalk Casino; Keystone Redevelopment; Chester Downs; Greenwood Gaming);
    • April 18-19, Pittsburgh, Omni William Penn Hotel (IOC Pittsburgh Inc.; PITG Gaming; Station Square Gaming)
    • April 21, Erie, Gannon University (Presque Isle Downs)
    • April 27, Poconos, Split Rock Resort (Downs Racing; Mount Airy; Pocono Manor)
    • April 28, Lehigh Valley, Crowne Plaza Allentown Hotel (Sands Bethworks Gaming; Boyd PA Partners; Tropicana PA, LLC)
    • May 2, Uniontown, Holiday Inn Holidome & Conference Center (Woodlands Fayette)
    • May 3, Somerset, Hidden Valley Resort (Seven Springs Farm)
    • NEW DATE May 10, Pittsburgh, Omni William Penn Hotel (Washington Trotting)
    • NEW DATE May 17, Gettysburg, Gettysburg College (Crossroads Gaming)
    • NEW DATE May 23, Lehigh Valley Crowne Plaza Allentown Hotel (Sands Bethworks Gaming; Boyd PA Partners; Tropicana PA, LLC)

By law, the Gaming Control Board is responsible for issuing gaming licenses to seven horse-racing tracks; five standalone facilities, including two in Philadelphia and one in Pittsburgh; and two existing resorts.