PA Gaming Control Board Renews Operator�s License For the Meadows Casino

HARRISBURG, PA: The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board today unanimously voted to renew the Category 1 Racetrack Casino operator’s license of Washington Trotting Association, Inc., operator of The Meadows Casino in Washington County.

The seven member Board determined that Washington Trotting Association, Inc. had fulfilled the obligations under its previously-approved casino operator’s license and therefore qualified to have its license renewed for an additional 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 last year at the Washington County Courthouse Square Building where personnel of The Meadows Casino submitted exhibits and presented testimony on various aspects of the facility’s operation since its last license renewal was granted in August 2011. 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, community groups 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.

Additionally, a public hearing was held in Harrisburg today to permit Board members to further question Washington Trotting Association, Inc. 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 June 2007, The Meadows Casino has generated $2.24 billion in gross revenue from the play of slot machines and table games resulting in a return to the Commonwealth of approximately $1.19 billion in gaming tax revenue. The Meadows Casino currently operates nearly 3,200 slot machines and over 80 table games, while employing 1,300 persons along with 130 additional jobs at its harness racing facility.

A video of today’s hearing is available on the PGCB web site along with a PowerPoint presentation provided at the meeting by Meadows Casino representatives.

The next meeting of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board is scheduled for 10:00 a.m., Wednesday, April 27, 2016 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 annually generate more than $1.4 billion 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 casino 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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