PRESS RELEASE

HARRISBURG: The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board will make available to the public the ownership stakes of applicants for gaming licenses in the Commonwealth on Monday Aug. 21, 2006, as part of its regular update of public information on applicants, Chairman Tad Decker said today. The information will be posted on the Gaming Control Board’s Web site, www.pgcb.state.pa.us.

“We are making this information available to the public to supplement our comprehensive list of 1,200 companies and individuals that have applied for licenses,” Decker said. “The information we release Monday will be complete as of that time, and we will continue to update it regularly as we learn more about the companies and individuals who have applied for licenses in the Commonwealth.

“The Board will continue to balance its obligation to follow the strict confidentiality requirements of the Gaming Act with its obligation to conduct an open and transparent licensing process,” Decker added. “This will ensure that the public has confidence in the gaming industry and in the agency that oversees this industry.”

The information to be released on Monday is a list of ownership interests of the applicants for operator licenses, Decker noted. The Gaming Control Board first published its comprehensive list of applicants – which includes owners, officers, directors and other key employees who may not be owners -- in January 2006 and has updated this list routinely since then, Decker said. Even after gaming licenses are awarded, the Gaming Control Board will continue to update and supplement its lists.

The Gaming Control Board is on track to award the first gaming licenses – to operators of gaming facilities at horse-racing tracks -- on Sept. 27, 2006. It expects to award all permanent gaming licenses in December 2006.

Under the Race Horse Development and Gaming Act, also known as Act 71 of 2004, the Board is responsible for licensing 14 gaming facilities across the state. Pursuant to the Act, the Board has jurisdiction over every aspect of the authorization and operation of slot machines in the Commonwealth.