HARRISBURG: The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, charged by statute with overseeing the implementation of expanded gaming in the Commonwealth, today hired its first two staff members.
In unanimous votes, the Board approved the hiring of Susan Hensel as a Special Assistant to the Board and Michelle Afragola as a Staff Attorney.

HARRISBURG: The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board will meet at 3 p.m. on Tuesday Feb. 8, 2005, in Public Utility Commission Hearing Room #1 in the North Office Building of the Capitol Complex in Harrisburg. PLEASE NOTE: The date for this meeting has changed from the date announced at the prior Board meeting.

HARRISBURG: The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, charged by statute with the implementation of expanded gaming in the Commonwealth, today hired two members of its executive staff.

Nick Hays, a deputy director of communications for Governor Edward G. Rendell, becomes the Board’s Director of Communications. He will serve as the Board’s primary spokesman, overseeing all public-affairs issues. Michael Walsh, a special assistant to the Governor, joins the Board as a special assistant and will concentrate on administrative and human resources issues.

HARRISBURG: Thomas A. Decker, Chairman of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, today issued the following statement clarifying the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Feb. 12 article “Slot-Machine Distributor Is Named”.

“The Inquirer’s story has created some confusion by suggesting that the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board has issued a license to distribute gaming equipment to a company called Keystone Gaming Machines.

HARRISBURG: The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board will hold a public meeting at 9 a.m. on Thursday March 3, 2005, in Room 8E of the Capitol Complex in Harrisburg.

Limited seating will be reserved for the media, and multi-box connections will be available. Agendas will be available at the meeting. Members of the public and media without Capitol credentials should enter the Main Capitol Building from either 3rd Street or Commonwealth Avenue for security screening.

HARRISBURG: Pennsylvania Secretary of Revenue Gregory C. Fajt today announced that he has selected GTECH Corporation to supply a central control computer system that will monitor slots gaming in Pennsylvania.

HARRISBURG: The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board today approved an administrative budget for fiscal year 2004-05, ending June 30, 2005, that totals $3.9 million. Under Act 71 of 2004, the legislation creating the Board, the Pennsylvania General Assembly appropriated $7.5 million for the Board over two years that must be repaid from revenue generated by expanded gaming in Pennsylvania (A copy of the administrative budget is attached to this release).

HARRISBURG: The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board will hold a public meeting at 3 p.m. on Tuesday March 15, 2005, in Salon E of the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown, 1201 Market St., Philadelphia. The Board will hold executive sessions at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. to discuss personnel matters. The executive sessions are closed to the public and the media.

At the public meeting, limited seating will be reserved for the media, and multi-box connections will be available. Agendas will be available at the meeting.

PHILADELPHIA: The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board has hired LaMonte J. Williams as its Deputy Chief Counsel for Administration, Board Chairman Thomas A. Decker said today.

Williams, currently Director of the Bureau of Equal Opportunity in the Commonwealth's Office of Administration, will also serve as the Gaming Board's Equal Employment Opportunity Officer, Decker said.

"LaMonte has been an outstanding Director of the Bureau of Equal Opportunity for the Commonwealth, and we look forward to having him on our staff," Decker said.

HARRISBURG: The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board will hold a public meeting at 1 p.m. on Tuesday April 12, 2005, in Room 8 E of the Capitol Complex in Harrisburg. Limited seating will be reserved for the media, and mult-box connections will be available. Agendas will be available at the meeting.