All bets off on casino info

==Source==
: by Andrew Conte, TRIBUNE-REVIEW, August 8, 2006
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_465159.html
HARRISBURG - Rarely have two full boxes held so
little.
Without fanfare Monday, the state Gaming Control Board
released for the first time public files with
applications by racetracks seeking casino licenses.
Cardboard boxes holding a bid from The Meadows race
track in Washington County included forms generated by
other public agencies -- such as the federal
Securities and Exchange Commission -- and documents
with all but names whited out.
Missing were untold pages from sections deemed
"confidential." Sixty-seven of the 89 "mandatory"
sections in the application by Washington Trotting Association, which had been the lead bidder for the casino, were withheld from public inspection.
Information about Millennium Gaming, the Las Vegas company that purchased the track last month, and its local subsidiary, PA Meadows, was not included. They
have filed applications, but the sale closed too late
for them to be part of the file, said Bill Paulos, a
partner at Millennium.
Some sections that were provided said nothing
substantive -- sometimes just "does not apply" -- or
were incomplete. A strategy to prevent gambling
addiction skipped one page and ended in mid-sentence.
Nick Hays, gaming board spokesman, said that might
have been an oversight. Regulators withheld documents
that are part of a background investigation or that
contain proprietary business information, he said.
"I don't agree that (the file) is lean," Hays said.
Lawmakers envisioned an open process when they drafted
the state's slots law, said Christopher Craig, legal
counsel for the Senate Democratic Appropriations Committee, who helped write the legislation.
Regulators are "still struggling" with how to act
under the state's Right to Know Law, he said.
"The public's interest is served in having as much
transparency as possible," said Ron Porter, co-chair
of the Pittsburgh Gaming Task Force, a volunteer body
that has watched the gambling application process.
"This has turned out to be far more convoluted than I
expected."
Regulators need to be as open as possible to build up
public confidence in the gambling industry, said Barry Kauffman, executive director of Pennsylvania Common Cause, a good-government lobbying group.
"It's going to raise suspicions when that kind of
information is not being made public," Kauffman said.
"This is an industry that doesn't have the best
reputation when it comes to law enforcement. You'd
think they would want to put as much information out
there as they can for the public to feel comfortable
this is being done on the up-and-up."
Ed Goppelt, a Philadelphia-based gambling opponent who
runs the Web site hallwatch.org, said he's not
surprised by the lack of information in the public
files. He traveled to Harrisburg in June to look at
applications for slots manufacturer's licenses.
"They had taken everything out of the applications
except for public documents some other agency had
generated," he said.
Washington Trotting Association said it had planned to
open a temporary casino with 1,500 slot machines, a
321-seat buffet and 500-seat entertainment space.
Paulos said a facility like that could open by
February.
To curb problem gambling, the company proposed not
allowing check-cashing at the casino and said it would
have made a "diligent effort" to not allow gambling by
visibly intoxicated patrons. It also vowed not to
market to young people by using cartoon figures or
college athletes.
Paulos said trying to prevent gambling addiction
remains a priority.
"The last thing we want is someone to get in trouble
gambling," Paulos said. "We're not there to take
someone's paycheck."
The gambling board plans to hold a round of hearings
on the slots applications, starting with The Meadows
proposal at 9 a.m. Sept. 11. The agency could award
the track a license by late next month.
A full hearing schedule is available online at
http://www.pgcb.state.pa.us.
category:gambling
category:future