HARRISBURG: A unique display on Pennsylvania-bred horse racing legend Smarty Jones, and scheduled appearances by jockey Vladimir Diaz, a star of the ESPN movie “Ruffian” and Michael Jester, owner of Penn Ridge Farm where 1998 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner Real Quiet will stand for the 2008 breeding season, are among the highlights of Pennsylvania’s first Race Track Gaming Expo.

HARRISBURG: The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board today approved three grant requests totaling $505,523 to local law enforcement agencies to fund programs designed to thwart the operation of illegal slot machines in the Commonwealth.

HARRISBURG: The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board today approved the proposed change of ownership/control of Harrah’s Entertainment, owner of Chester Downs and Marina, LLC in Delaware County, to Hamlet Holdings, LLC.

HARRISBURG: The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board today approved Greenwood Gaming and Entertainment’s phase one master plan for Philadelphia Park Casino and Racetrack. The unanimous approval by the Board allows that facility to start operating under a permanent license beginning December 19, 2007.

HARRISBURG: The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board today approved six enforcement actions at its public meeting. The actions involved five individuals and one casino:

HARRISBURG: Casino Journal magazine, a publication that covers the entire North American gaming industry, has lauded the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board as one of their “People of the Year” for 2007.

HARRISBURG: The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board today unanimously approved 11 applications for permanent slot-machine gaming operator licenses, including five for the first stand alone casinos awarded under the Race Horse Development and Gaming Act of 2004.

HARRISBURG: The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board today released its schedule of public meetings for the coming year.

Under the schedule, the Board will meet regularly on the first and third Thursdays of each month. The only exceptions are the meetings on Tuesday, January 9th, Thursday, February 22nd and the scheduling of only a single meeting in both July and August on the third Thursday. All meetings are open to the public.

The complete schedule is as follows:

HARRISBURG: The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board announced today that it is canceling its Tuesday, January 9, 2007 meeting.

The next meeting of the Board will be Thursday, January 18, 2007. That meeting is scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m. and held in Hearing Room #1 in the North Office Building in Harrisburg.

HARRISBURG: The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board has begun a weekly posting on its web site of gaming revenues from licensed operators. The reports provide a breakdown on wagering, payouts to patrons and the amount of machines operating.

Gaming Control Board Executive Director Anne Neeb said these reports are another step by the agency to provide information about Pennsylvania’s newest industry.