PA Gaming Control Board Renews Casino Operator�s License For Parx Casino

HARRISBURG, PA: The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board today unanimously voted to renew the Category 1 casino operator’s license of Greenwood Gaming and Entertainment, LLC, operator of Parx Casino in Bucks County.

The seven member Board determined that Greenwood Gaming and Entertainment had fulfilled the obligations under its initial casino operator’s license and therefore qualified to have its license renewed for a three-year period.

Today’s decision was based on a process utilized by the Board that enables both the operator and the public to provide information relevant to the renewal decision. A public input hearing was held July 17, 2014 at the Bensalem Township Municipal Building. At the hearing, Greenwood Gaming personnel submitted exhibits and presented testimony on various aspects of the Parx Casino operation since its current license was renewed in September of 2010. The public was also permitted to provide testimony on the casino and its impact in the community.

In reaching its decision, the Board also reviewed testimony received at the hearing from local government officials, a horseman’s organization, and the PA State Police, along with the Gaming Control Board’s Office of Enforcement Counsel, Bureau of Investigations and Enforcement, Office of Compulsive and Problem Gaming, and Casino Compliance. Each testified as to Parx Casino’s performance since receiving its last operator’s license renewal.

Additionally, a public hearing was held in Harrisburg today to permit Board members to further question Greenwood Gaming and Entertainment representatives about any remaining issues prior to voting on the renewal. A PowerPoint presentation provided at today’s meeting is available on the Board’s web site, www.gamingcontrolboard.pa.gov, under the Board Meetings tab.

Since opening its opening in December 2006 to the end of October 2014, Parx Casino has generated more than $3.3 billion in gross revenue from the play of slot machines and table games resulting in a return to the Commonwealth of approximately $1.65 billion in gaming tax revenue. Additionally, the facility currently employs over 1,800 persons.

The next meeting of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board is scheduled for 10:00 a.m., Wednesday, December 10, 2014 in the PGCB’s Public Hearing Room located on the second floor of Strawberry Square in Harrisburg.

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 30 years, the Gaming Control Board is tasked to oversee all aspects of the state’s casino industry. The 10 stand-alone and racetrack casinos in operation, along with the two resort casinos, collectively employ over 17,700 people within their facilities and generate an average of $4 million per day in tax revenue from slot machine and table games play. A portion of that money is used for property tax reduction to all Pennsylvania homeowners; provide funds to the Commonwealth’s horse racing industry, fire companies, a statewide water and sewer project grant program, and the state’s General Fund; and, established a new stream of tax revenue to local governments that host casinos for community projects.

A wealth of information about the Gaming Control Board’s regulatory efforts and Pennsylvania’s gaming industry can be found at www.gamingcontrolboard.pa.gov. At this website, visitors can watch Board meetings live or view videos of past meetings, look up future meeting schedules and past meeting transcripts, obtain information on identifying a gambling problem and gaining assistance, access an interactive map of casino locations, request a speaker for their group, along with much more information. You can also follow the agency on Twitter by choosing @PAGamingControl.

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