Over the next three months the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) will publicly examine applicants for the state’s new slots licences. The first hearings will be held today at the State Museum in Harrisburg, and the applicants for the early-bird (conditional) licences have two hours in which to present their case. The conditional licences are for slot machine operations at existing racetracks, and there were six applications for the seven available licences. Tomorrow the Pennsylvania Senate is due to consider proposals to alter the 2004 slots Act.

Four applicants will be heard today: Downs Racing; Chester Downs and Marina; Presque Isle Downs; and Washington Trotting Association. Tomorrow it will be the turn of Penn National and Greenwood Gaming and Entertainment. This third stage of the licensing process will assess the suitability of the applicants in regard to character, financial viability and the credibility of their business plans. Stage one, completed in December 2005, was the actual presentation of applications. Stage two was the public-input hearings held during April and May. The final stage four will be Licensure, scheduled to take place by the end of this year. The conditional racetrack licences should be issued on 27 September, with further hearings in early December before becoming permanent.

Last week the PGCB published on its Website written comments from the public-input hearings. “The public-input hearings were a key step in the licensing process because they gave the Board an evidentiary record of the thoughts of individuals, community groups and elected officials in the communities where gaming facilities are being proposed,” said Anne Neeb, Executive Director of the Gaming Control Board. “It’s essential for the public to know what was submitted in writing – in addition to what was said in person at the hearings.” (E-09.11.06)

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