Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board Renews Operator's License for Mount Airy Resort Casino

Board also fines another casino $5,000 for regulatory violation

HARRISBURG, Pa., Aug. 22, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board on Wednesday unanimously voted to renew the Category 2 casino operator's license of Mount Airy #1 LLC, operator of the Mount Airy Casino Resort located in Paradise Township, Monroe County.

The seven member Board determined that Mount Airy #1 LLC had fulfilled the obligations under its current operator's license and therefore qualified to have its license renewed. The renewed 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 Mount Airy #1 LLC on December 15, 2011 at the Paradise Township Municipal Building.  At the hearing, representatives of the licensee submitted exhibits and presented testimony on various aspects of the operation of the Mount Airy Casino Resort.  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 public input 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 Mount Airy #1 LLC's performance under its current operator's license.

Additionally, a public hearing was held in Harrisburg prior to the Board's regular meeting today to permit Board members to further question representatives of Mount Airy #1 LLC 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.

As of August 1, 2012, Mount Airy Casino Resort has generated approximately $745 million in gross slot machine revenue and an additional $82 million of gross revenue through the play of table games.  Total tax revenue generated and returned to the Commonwealth from the combined play of slots and tables has been approximately $451 million.

Through the second quarter of 2012, employment at the Mount Airy Casino Resort was 1,315 persons.

In a separate matter, the Board today fined Chester Downs and Marina, operator of Harrah's Philadelphia Casino & Racetrack, $5,000 for doing business with a prohibited gaming service provider. Chester Downs and Marina's fine stemmed from the purchase of a software maintenance program from Vision Solutions, Inc. after that firm had been placed on the Board's prohibited gaming service providers list.

The next meeting of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board is scheduled for 10:00 a.m., Wednesday, September 12, 2012 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 with the passage of Act 71, also known as the Race Horse Development and Gaming Act. Pennsylvania's first new state agency in nearly 30 years, the Gaming Control Board is tasked to oversee all aspects of the state's casino industry. The 11 casinos in operation all offer both slot machine and table game gambling, employ over 16,000 people, and collectively generate an average of $4 million per day in tax revenue. A portion of that money is used for property tax reduction to all Pennsylvania homeowners; provide funds to the Commonwealth's horse racing industry, fire companies, a statewide water and sewer project grant program, and the state's General Fund; and, established a new stream of tax revenue to local governments that host casinos for community projects.

A wealth of information about the Gaming Control Board's regulatory efforts and Pennsylvania's gaming industry can be found at www.gamingcontrolboard.pa.gov. At this website, visitors can watch Board meetings live or view videos of past meetings, look up future meeting schedules and past meeting transcripts, obtain information on identifying a gambling problem and gaining assistance, access an interactive map of casino locations, request a speaker for their group, along with much more information.  You can also follow the agency on Twitter by choosing @PAGamingControl.

SOURCE Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board

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