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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 25th, 2015

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA

Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board
P.O. Box 69060
Harrisburg, PA 17106-9060

CONTACT

Doug Harbach or Richard McGarvey (717) 346-8321

PA Gaming Control Board Renews Casino Operator’s License

for Harrah’s Philadelphia

HARRISBURG, PA: The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board today unanimously voted to renew the Category 1 casino operator’s license of Harrah’s Chester Downs and Marina, LLC, operator of Harrah’s Philadelphia Casino in Delaware County.

The seven member Board determined that Harrah’s Chester Downs and Marina had fulfilled the obligations under its  current 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 earlier at the Chester City Hall where Harrah’s Chester Downs and Marina personnel submitted exhibits and presented testimony on various aspects of the Harrah’s Philadelphia Casino operation since its previous license renewal.  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 Harrah’s Philadelphia Casino’s performance.

Additionally, a public hearing was held in Harrisburg today to permit Board members to further question Harrah’s Chester Downs and Marina 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 its opening in January 2007 to the end of December 2014, Harrah’s Philadelphia Casino has generated over $2.5 billion in gross revenue from the play of slot machines and table games resulting in a return to the Commonwealth of almost $1.3 billion in gaming tax revenue.  Harrah’s Philadelphia Casino currently operates approximately 2,800 slot machines and 120 table games, while employing over 1,400 persons.

The next meeting of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board is scheduled for 10:00 a.m., Tuesday, March 31, 2015 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 and is tasked to oversee all aspects of the state’s casino industry. There are 10 stand-alone and racetrack casinos in operation, along with the two resort casinos.  These facilities collectively employ over 17,700 people and generate an average of $3.7 million per day in tax revenue from slot machine and table games play. The largest portion of that money is used for property tax reduction to all Pennsylvania homeowners with additional tax revenue going to the horse racing industry, economic development projects, fire companies, county fairs, water and sewer projects, the Commonwealth’s General Fund, and to local governments that host casinos.

Additional information about both the PGCB’s regulatory efforts and Pennsylvania’s gaming industry can be found at www.gamingcontrolboard.pa.gov. You can also follow the agency on Twitter by choosing @PAGamingControl.

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