Resort Gaming License Public Input Hearing Schedule Announced

HARRISBURG: The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board today announced the schedule of public input hearings for four applicants vying for the remaining Category 3 license that would permit the operation of up to 600 slot machines and a maximum of 50 table games at a resort hotel.

Public input hearings provide a forum for individuals to voice their support or opposition to a proposed casino in their community, and permit those persons with an interest in the applicant’s proposal to learn more about the:

character, operational and financial suitability;
community impact;
diversity plans;
plans for the prevention of compulsive gaming; and,
other issues about the proposed facility.

Information received by the Board during these proceedings will be included in the record upon which the Board will grant or deny licenses.

Residents, community groups and elected officials wishing to present testimony at the public input hearings must register prior to the hearing and can do so by clicking on a special link on the homepage of the PGCB website at www.pgcb.state.pa.us. Additionally, those who cannot attend but would like to submit written comments for the record can do so up to 60 days following the hearing. Written comments can be submitted either through same web site link, by fax to 717-346-8350, or via mail to:

PA Gaming Control Board
P.O. Box 69060, Harrisburg, PA 17106
Attention: Board Secretary

Per provisions of the Gaming Act, all hearings will be held within the local municipality in which the proposed casino would be located. All hearings will begin at 10:00 a.m. The below schedule includes a date and time when individuals or groups must be signed up to present testimony at the hearing:

Penn Harris Gaming, LP – Hampden Township, Cumberland County
Date:	August 30, 2010
Location:	Hampden Township Municipal Building 230 South Sporting Hill Road, Mechanicsburg, PA 17050
The deadline for registration to present at this hearing is Noon, Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Mason-Dixon Resorts, LP – Cumberland Township, Adams County
Date:	August 31, 2010
Location:	To Be Announced
The deadline for registration to present at this hearing is Noon, Thursday, August 26, 2010

Bushkill Group – Middle Smithfield Township, Monroe County
Date:	September 2, 2010
Location:	Country Club of the Poconos Clubhouse 1445 Big Ridge Drive, East Stroudsburg, PA 18302
The deadline for registration to present at this hearing is Noon, Monday, August 30, 2010

Woodlands Fayette, LLC (Nemacolin) – Wharton Township, Fayette County
Date:	September 8, 2010
Location:	Wharton Township Municipal Building 114 Elliottsville Road, Farmington, PA 15437
The deadline for registration to present at this hearing is Noon, Thursday, September 2, 2010

Should the Board require additional time to receive testimony, additional days may be added to the schedule for any of these hearings.

The Board will place additional materials related to each applicant on the web site in the near future. These would include items such as Local Impact Reports and Diversity Plans. The Board will also announce when the applications for each Category 3 applicant will be available for public inspection in its Harrisburg offices.

The Board will also schedule Licensing Hearings in Harrisburg for the four applicants later this year. Those hearings provide an opportunity for the Board to receive additional testimony from the applicants and also question those applicants. Public input will not be taken at those hearings, only at the announced Public Input Hearings.

The first of the two Category 3 licenses was awarded to Valley Forge Resort Casino on April 8, 2009. The Valley Forge Resort Casino has indicated it will set an opening date pending the outcome of an appeal of the Board’s licensing decision by Category 1 operator Philadelphia Park Casino in Bensalem.

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 40 years, the Gaming Control Board is tasked to oversee all aspects of the state’s casino industry. To date, with nine of a maximum fourteen casinos in operation, legalized gaming in the Commonwealth has created over 8,000 new living wage jobs, revenue that has provided property tax reduction in each of the past two years for all homeowners, and funds that have reinvigorated Pennsylvania’s horse racing industry. A wealth of information about the Gaming Control Board and Pennsylvania’s gaming industry can be found at www.pgcb.state.pa.us. At this web site, videos and information on the operation of the PGCB, problem gambling efforts and assistance, future meeting schedules and past meeting transcripts, and a link to request a speaker are among the many items available.

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