Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board Renews Casino Operator�s License For the Rivers Casino

HARRISBURG, PA: The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board on Wednesday unanimously voted to renew the Category 2 casino operator’s license of Holdings Acquisition Co., LP, operator of the Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh, Allegheny County.

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

Wednesday’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 for Holdings Acquisition on June 2, 2015 at the Allegheny County Courthouse. At the hearing, representatives of the licensee submitted exhibits and presented testimony on various aspects on the operation of the Rivers Casino 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 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 Holdings Acquisition’s performance since receiving its last operator’s license renewal in 2011.

Additionally, a public hearing was held in Harrisburg prior to the Board’s regular meeting today to permit Board members to further question Holdings Acquisition 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.pgcb.state.pa.us, under the Board Meetings tab.

Since its opening in 2009, the Rivers Casino has generated over $2 billion in gross revenue from the play of slot machines and table games. Total tax revenue generated and returned to the Commonwealth from the combined play of slots and tables is approximately $980 million.

Through the third quarter of 2015, employment at the Rivers Casino was 1,697 persons of which 96.5% were Pennsylvania residents.

The next meeting of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board is scheduled for 10:00 a.m., Wednesday, December 9, 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 17,000 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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