PA Gaming Control Board To Hold Public Hearing On December 15th For Mount Airy Casino Resort Slots License Renewal

Public welcome and invited to participate

HARRISBURG: The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board today announced that it would hold a public hearing on Thursday, December 15, 2011 to gather evidence, including public comment, on the renewal of the Category 2 slot machine operator’s license of Mount Airy #1 LLC, operator of the Mount Airy Casino Resort.

The hearing will begin at 10:00 am at the Paradise Township Municipal Building, located at the intersection of Routes 191 and 940 in Cresco, Pennsylvania.

Citizens, community groups and elected officials wishing to present oral or written testimony, which will become part of the evidentiary record in this matter, can now register by clicking on a special link on the homepage of the PGCB website at www.gamingcontrolboard.pa.gov. The deadline for registration and for both oral and written comments is noon on Tuesday, December 13th.

Written comments can also be mailed, with a postmark no later than Tuesday, December 13th, to the PA Gaming Control Board, P.O. Box 69060, Harrisburg, PA 17106, Attention: Board Secretary, or the comments can be faxed to 717-346-8350.

Pursuant to section 1326 of the Pennsylvania Race Horse Development and Gaming Act, all licenses shall be subject to renewal every three years. The renewal application must include an update of the information contained in the initial application.

To implement the renewal requirement, the Board utilizes a two-step process:

First, the December 15th public hearing will be held before the Director of the Office of Hearings and Appeals for the purpose of receiving documentary evidence, hearing testimony and building a record upon which the Board will base its licensing decision. The hearing record, along with a report from the Director of Hearings and Appeals, will be transmitted to the Board.

The second step is to hold a public hearing in Harrisburg where Board members can ask additional questions and the parties may offer oral argument. At the renewal hearings, the burden is on the renewal applicant to establish and demonstrate, by clear and convincing evidence, its eligibility and suitability for renewal of its license. During the hearing, the licensee will be given the opportunity to demonstrate, among other things, its good character, honesty and integrity; compliance with its statement of conditions; tax revenue generated; jobs created; amenities added since opening of the casino; success in implementing its diversity plan, and involvement in the surrounding community.

Following these proceedings, the Board will then be able to determine whether or not the licensee remains eligible and suitable consistent with the laws of the Commonwealth, and is otherwise qualified to have its license renewed.

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. Currently, the ten casinos in operation in the Commonwealth employ almost 15,000 people and legalized slot machine and table gaming has generated $5.5 billion in tax and license fee revenue since the first casino opened in November 2006. A portion of that money is enabling property tax reduction for all Pennsylvania homeowners, providing needed funding to the Commonwealth’s horse racing industry, funding grants for fire companies and water/sewer projects, and establishing a new stream of tax revenue to local governments for community projects. A wealth of information about the Gaming Control Board and Pennsylvania’s gaming industry can be found at www.gamingcontrolboard.pa.gov. At this web site, visitors can view videos of Board meetings and on the operation of the PGCB, obtain information on identifying a gambling problem and gaining assistance, look up future meeting schedules and past meeting transcripts, access an interactive map of casino locations, request a speaker for their group, along with much more information.

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