PA Gaming Control Board Announces Public-input Hearings

Board to Hold 13 Days of Hearings at 9 Sites Statewide

HARRISBURG: The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board today announced a comprehensive schedule of public-input hearings on gaming facilities proposed for the Commonwealth. The Board will conduct 13 days of hearings at nine locations across Pennsylvania in April and May of 2006.

“Public input will help us determine which proposed facilities will be safe, enjoyable and most profitable for the people of Pennsylvania,” said Board Chairman Tad Decker. “We want our applicants to show us and the public at large what they are proposing, and we want to hear from individuals, community organizations and local government groups.”

Information gathered at the hearings will become part of the formal record that the Gaming Control Board considers when deciding which of the proposed facilities to license, Decker added. All hearings will be open to the public and the media, and will be advertised locally.

The Board invites applicants, individuals, community organizations and representatives of county and local governments that would be affected by a gaming facility within their borders to participate in the hearings. Those interested in speaking 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 6, 2006, to be considered. The process for the hearings has been designed to facilitate presentation of the broadest possible array of opinions at the hearings. Guidelines for participation have been developed for the hearings and are also posted on the Web site.

To access 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 (PA Gaming Group; 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.; North Shore Gaming; PITG Gaming; Station Square Gaming; Washington Trotting; Trum Construction)
    • 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)

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. The Board received 25 application submissions for gaming operators licenses.