PA Gaming Control Board Adds May 10 Hearings On Pittsburgh-area Proposals

HARRISBURG: Because of overwhelming public interest in gaming facilities proposed for the Pittsburgh area, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board has added a day of public-input hearings on the applications, Anne LaCour Neeb, Executive Director of the PGCB, said today.

The new date, Wednesday May 10, 2006, is in addition to the previously announced April 18, 2006, and April 19, 2006, hearings on these proposals.

The Board will gather public input on the three proposals for the gaming license in Pittsburgh on April 18 and April 19. It will gather input on the proposal for a gaming license at a race-track in Washington County on the new hearing date of May 10.

“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 234 for the Pittsburgh-area proposals,” she added. “To ensure an opportunity to be heard, we have added hearings to the original 13-day schedule.”

Like the initial Pittsburgh-area hearings April 18 and April 19, the new May 10 Pittsburgh-area hearing will take place at the Omni William Penn Hotel, William Penn Place, Pittsburgh.

The newly scheduled hearing will begin promptly at 8:30 a.m.

Because of the volume of public interest, additional hearings are also being scheduled on proposals in Adams County near Gettysburg, and the Lehigh Valley.

Registrants are being notified by mail of the additional date and the hearing at which they will have an opportunity to testify, she 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.

    • 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.