PA Gaming Control Board Extends Hearing-registration Deadline To March 17

HARRISBURG: To encourage maximum participation in its public-input hearings on proposed gaming facilities, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board has extended the registration deadline for the hearings to Friday March 17, 2006, said Anne LaCour Neeb, Executive Director of the PGCB.

The Board also announced that local-impact reports submitted by 19 of the 22 applicants for gaming licenses will be available at the Board's headquarters in the Strawberry Square office complex in Harrisburg on Monday March 6, 2006. The local-impact reports for the remaining three applicants will be made available at the Board's offices shortly thereafter. The Board will post all the local-impact reports on its Web site, www.pgcb.state.pa.us, by Friday March 10, 2006.

These steps will expand the time available for preparation by those who want to give testimony at the Board's public-input hearings in April and May on the proposed gaming facilities, Neeb said.

"Public input is critical to the licensing process, so people need to be familiar with what the applicants are proposing," Neeb said. "There is tremendous interest in gaming throughout Pennsylvania, so the Board is taking these steps to enhance the participation of as many people as possible in the public-input hearings."

The public-input hearings are scheduled over 13 days in nine Pennsylvania communities in April and May. Information gathered at the hearings will become part of the formal record the Board considers when deciding which proposed facilities to license. All hearings will be open to the public and the media.

Those interested in speaking at the public-input hearings must submit a registration form that can be downloaded from the Board's Web site, www.pgcb.state.pa.us. Registration forms received by the Board must be postmarked no later than March 17, 2006, to be considered. Guidelines for participation have been developed for the hearings and are also posted on the Web site.

Should the number of requests exceed the time allowed for a public-input hearing, those not selected to speak will be able to submit written comments that will also become part of the permanent record.

To access information on exact locations and times, guidelines for participants and registration information, visit the Web site and click on the "Public Input Hearings" button on the home page.

The locations and dates of the hearings, as well as the proposed facilities to be discussed at each, are:

    * April 5, Gettysburg, Gettysburg College (Crossroads Gaming)
    * April 6-7, Harrisburg, State Museum (Mountainview)
    * 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; Washington Trotting)
    * 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)

The PGCB offices, at the Strawberry Square office building on Walnut Street, are open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.

Under Act 71 of 2004, the Gaming Control Board is responsible for issuing 14 gaming licenses - seven at horse-racing tracks; five standalone facilities, including two in Philadelphia and one in Pittsburgh; and two at existing resorts.