SPECIAL DAILY
GAMING UPDATE
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
Pa. Gaming Control Board builds its
infrastructure, begins hiring staff
HARRISBURG (Jan. 25, 2005). The
Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board is
continuing its progress toward establishing its
infrastructure and regulations, voting during
its third meeting today to extend job offers to
two lawyers and settling on several of its own
internal policies.
To use the hyperlinks within this document…
Throughout this document, you will see words
highlighted by boxes. Those are “hyperlinks” to
documents distributed at the Gaming Control Board
meeting or other helpful documents regarding gaming
in Pennsylvania.
You need only click on the
highlighted word(s) to retrieve the underlying
document.
Board chair Thomas “Tad” Decker
reminded the board at the outset of the
meeting that it must move promptly to insure
a timely start-up of slot operations in
Pennsylvania to advance the goals of tax relief
and economic development, but that the
process must be balanced by the need for
systemic integrity.
Board makes job offers to lawyers
After a brief executive session, the board
voted unanimously to extend an offer to
Susan Hensel to occupy the position of
special counsel to the board at an annual
salary of $90,000, and to extend an offer to
Michelle Afragola to serve as a staff attorney
at an annual salary of $63,844.
Their
permanent status is subject to their passing
appropriate background investigations.
The board has received hundreds of
applications, and it has begun the process of
sorting through them. Decker indicated that
the board hopes to settle on candidates for its
executive director and director of licensing
and enforcement within the next few weeks.
Decker also announced that the board has
found a home, having subleased 20,000 square
feet of space in Strawberry Square in
Harrisburg for $13.87 per square foot, which
included build outs, and utilities.
Board adopts vehicle, travel policies
Michael A. Walsh, special assistant to the
Governor, reported on administrative issues.
A copy of the written materials he used with
his presentation is available here. He
recommended, and the board adopted,
interim policies concerning reimbursement
for travel and automobiles. The board will
adhere to the executive branch policy on
travel and the General Assembly’s policy on
vehicle leases. He then went on explain the
draft organizational structure he had provided
the Board based on a review of the structure
of similarly sized agencies, both executive and
independent. He focused particularly on the
organization of a Bureau of Administration,
which will be key to startup. Finally, Walsh
briefly discussed the formation of board
committees. The board took no action on
organizational structure, with at least one
member expressing an opinion that it would
be better to have input from the executive
director before doing so.
Board members seek to learn from
the experiences of other jurisdictions
Decker reported on a visit to New Jersey
he undertook with board members Mary
SPECIAL DAILY
GAMING UPDATE
January 25, 2005
month. French briefly described PWC’s
experience and then indicated that PWC’s first
task was to develop a license application form
for the board to consider. To do that, PWC
intends to review the work already done by
the Department of Revenue and the
Pennsylvania State Police.
It will then
develop a questionnaire to use for interviews
with gaming participants in other jurisdictions
to learn about “best practices.”
DiGiacomo Colins and Kenneth T. McCabe.
The three met with representatives of the
New Jersey Division of Gaming. Decker
indicated that the most important lesson they
drew from the New Jersey experience was
how best to adapt to changing circumstances.
He noted that Pennsylvania will have an
advantage in that many of its guidelines will
be regulatory rather than statutory such that
they will be easer to amend. He also said that
board members plan similar visits to other
gaming jurisdictions, including Delaware,
Nevada, Michigan and Ontario.
Both
McCabe and Colins emphasized differences
between Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
McCabe pointed out that most of New
Jersey’s gaming is in one place while
Pennsylvania’s will be throughout the
Commonwealth. Colins made clear her view
that Pennsylvania cannot just copy New
Jersey’s gaming protocol.
Colins reported to the board on the
regulatory process. She began with a brief
legal synopsis of the legal importance of
regulations and pointed out that the board has
the authority to implement “temporary”
regulations for two years but must have
“final” regulations in place in three years. She
then proposed a framework for regulation
development: (1) general regulations and
regulations concerning applications by
category,
starting
with
those
for
manufacturers and suppliers; (2) regulations
for licensing; (3) regulations for investigation
and (4) regulations for hearings and appeals.
She indicated that research has started, but is
not complete, on what steps are necessary for
the adoption of temporary regulations.
Board anticipates choosing computer
vendor soon
Curt Haines, deputy secretary for
information technology in the Department of
Revenue, then updated the board on the
department’s progress in selecting a vendor
for the central control computer system. He
started by stressing that he has two objectives
– to give a public update on the process and
to convey the procurement committee’s
growing confidence that, no matter what
system is ultimately selected, the system will
permit the board to deploy slot machines and
to meet all the requirements of the statute.
Haines reported that the department has
received 10 responses to its bid solicitation,
although it rejected one as unresponsive.
The department asked the bidders to
respond to a second set of questions, and
from their responses narrowed the list of
finalists.
In response to a question from the board
concerning compliance with the diversity
mandate of the statute, he indicated that, as
part of the second set of questions, vendors
were asked to respond in diversity questions
and submit the answers in sealed envelopes.
The Department of General Services division
that deals with disadvantaged contractors
evaluated the responses and ranked the
vendors. Those rankings were considered in
choosing the finalists. Haines noted that price
would be considered but would not be the
determinative factor. He indicated that he
anticipates that a recommendation on who
PriceWaterhouseCoopers begins
work
Michael
French,
the
head
of
PriceWaterhouseCoopers (“PWC”) hospitality
and leisure group, described his firm’s
intended first tasks as a board consultant.
The board hired PWC during a meeting last
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SPECIAL DAILY
GAMING UPDATE
January 25, 2005
should win the contract will be made to the
Secretary of Revenue in February.
***
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K&LNG’s web site at: www.klng.com.
For more information about important
aspects of gaming in Pennsylvania, please
see the following K&LNG betting and
gaming client alerts:
Unions: What Do They Mean for a Gaming
Industry Employer?, Pennsylvania Gaming
Alert, by Hayes C. Stover, Von E. Hays,
Jacqueline Jackson-DeGarcia. January
2005.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, please
consult one of the lawyers listed below:
The Gaming Act: Pennsylvania Supreme
Court Jurisdiction 1, Pennsylvania Gaming
Update, by Linda J. Shorey, John P. Krill,
Jr.. December 2004.
Harrisburg
Indian Involvement Thwarted, Gaming Alert,
by Linda J. Shorey, Marsha A. Sajer.
December 2004.
License Application Hearings Before
Pennsylvania’s
Gaming
Board,
Pennsylvania Gaming Update, by David R.
Overstreet. November 2004.
David R. Overstreet
717.231.4517
doverstreet@klng.com
David R. Fine
717.231.5820
dfine@klng.com
Linda J. Shorey
717.231.4510
lshorey@klng.com
London
The Gaming Act and Diversity: Legislative
Affirmative Action, Pennsylvania Gaminig
Update, by Jacqueline Jackson-DeGarcia,
David R. Fine. November 2004.
Warren L. Phelops
+44.(0)20.7360.8129
wphelops@klng.com
Gaming Law Under Attack: What’s Next?,
Pennsylvania Gaming Update, by Linda J.
Shorey, David R. Overstreet. October 2004.
The attorneys resident in all offices, unless otherwise
indicated, are not certified by the Texas Board of
Legal Specialization.
The Pennsylvania Gaming Act: The World
of Procurement, Pennsylvania Gaming
Update, by C. Grainger Bowman. October
2004.
This publication/newsletter is for informational
purposes and does not contain or convey legal
advice. The information herein should not be
used or relied upon in regard to any particular
facts or circumstances without first consulting a
lawyer.
If you would like to receive K&LNG
alerts regarding the betting and gaming
industry in Pennsylvania and elsewhere, please
contact
Christopher
Heck
at
check@klng.com.
©2005 KIRKPATRICK & LOCKHART
NICHOLSON GRAHAM LLP. ALL RIGHTS
RESERVED.
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