• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Philadelphia Daily News Sandra Shea Column: Gaming Board is Betting That You Don't Care

Posted on: Friday, 24 February 2006, 09:00 CST

By Sandra Shea, Philadelphia Daily News

Feb. 24--I WOULD LIKE to report that the state Gaming Control Board wishes you would drop dead, but it would no doubt consider that "contumacious behavior," and in its rules for proper conduct, that's a no-no.

And if you don't know what "contumacious" means, don't feel bad: I write for a living and I had to look it up. It means stubbornly angry.

The irony? Thanks to the recent actions of the state board, I've never felt more *(%()*#$*! contumacious in my life.

The seven-member state Gaming Control Board is the ultimate authority over the 14 slots venues that the Legislature mandated in 2004, when it legalized gambling. The board is now in the early stages of reviewing applications for licenses. Here in Philadelphia, five parties have applied for two slots parlors.

The stakes are huge - these operations could forever change the landscape of the city and our neighborhoods. So making sure the public gets its say is a big part of the state board's job.

It's failing miserably.

For example: The public input sessions for Philadelphia are April 10, 11, and 12. License applicants will get 40 minutes to speak, local governments 30 minutes, community groups 10 minutes and the general public three minutes. And that, ladies and gentlemen of our city, will be the sum total of your public input on this vastly complicated issue.

Those who wish to speak at the hearings must send a request, in writing, by March 6. In your application - which might be denied - you must summarize what you plan to say, which presumably will be based on the detailed impact reports that the applicants have submitted.

The catch: The state board is not releasing these reports until staffers finish vetting them for sensitive information.

It can't tell us when they will be finished.

Even when they are finished, you won't be able to access the reports on the board's Web site. You will have to drive to Harrisburg, or submit a request in writing, to get your own copy, which will cost you, but don't ask how much, since no one knows how many pages each is.

All of which means that if

you're lucky, you could finally clap your eyes on these reports by the time the first slots parlor opens... in your back yard.

So the very information that they are having a public hearing on is not going to be made public in time for the hearing. Is this a great state, or what?

But what's the point of complaining unless you're going to do something about it?

So here's what the Daily News is doing:

1. We're making the registration form available in print. (The only way the gaming board allows you to access it is on its Web site, although you can't file it via the Web site. You must print it out and send in a hard copy.) The board has agreed to honor these forms, as long as they are postmarked by March 6.

If you want to access its site, visit www.pgcb.state.pa.us.

2. The People Paper also is making these impact reports available to anyone who wants to stop by our office and look. No written request is needed (though I wouldn't mind a phone call, at 215-854-5886, just to make sure someone is here to show you where they are.)

Three bidders - Donald Trump (who wants to operate a parlor on the Nicetown site of the old Budd Co.), Riverwalk (at Columbus Boulevard and Spring Garden Street), and Sugarhouse (on the Delaware, at Shackamaxon Street) - have given us their local impact reports. Two other applicants, Pinnacle (in Fishtown) and Foxwoods (eyeing South Coumbus Boulevard at Reed Street), who came in late to the process, are still working on theirs, but have promised to release them as soon as they're done.

Since we started covering the coming of slots parlors to the city, the Daily News has raised questions about the public's ability to have a voice in this. So far, it's worse than we could have imagined.

At this point, casino operators, including Trump, seem more concerned about the public's right to know than the Commonwealth is. That's pretty bad.

Local officials, including City Councilman Frank DiCicco, already have been holding meetings in their neighborhoods. It would be nice if the rest of our leaders did the same.

The city had a strong voice in this issue with the local gaming task force, but that group was disbanded once its final report was filed. The city may be creating a new entity to play a role, but that won't be for a while. (And the fact that the Riverwalk casino would be on city-owned land muddies the city's objectivity in this process.) And where are our state representatives? Hiding in shame?

Meanwhile, here's a new word for the state Gaming Control Board: Contemptible.

-----

Copyright (c) 2006, Philadelphia Daily News

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

XETRA:TKA,

Source: The Philadelphia Daily News

More News in this Category