You're very welcome. Here are some personal takeaways from today's meeting...
The fact that Pennsylvania casino regulators are broadcasting these meetings publicly is a game changer imo. A wide range of land-based casino enforcement issues (aka Involuntary Exclusion List or "Black Book") make it to the PGCB every month, and patrons are able to view how an official statewide, American-based gambling regulatory body addresses issues such as:
* administrative-level testimony concerning land-based and online casino matters
* gaming area changes/plans for land-based casinos
* voluntary self-exclusion and involuntary exclusion (aka "Black Book") scrutiny
* cross-jurisdiction (
PA Liquor Control Board) of serving alcoholic beverages
* "bad actor" employees
* unauthorized access of minors to gaming areas
* data protection and software updates to prevent minors gaining access via fake IDs
* "credit sweeping" crimes
* land-based slot machine paytable adjustments
All this in my opinion gives players, media, industry pursuits, and the general public a new method for remaining informed about gambling/casino news in their respective geographical regions. If the trend of publicly casting commercial casino regulatory meetings continues, much of the general methodologies related to how/why casino companies make certain decisions will become common knowledge for all to review.
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Much like last month's PGCB meeting, the topics that most engaged the Board were tied to land-based casino remodeling/modifications of floor/access space.
Last month it was a proposed access ramp for a casino that hasn't been built yet.
This month it was determining the logistics and customer considerations for reducing the number of slot terminals in three PA casinos to make way for sportsbooks, restaurants, "smoking" areas, etc. The "slot reduction" plans (which were subsequently approved by the Board) drew criticism from the
Pennsylvania Treasury office.
(Note that the overall plans for making space for sportsbooks/smoking areas/restaurants were NOT approved, only the plans for reducing the number of slot machines were approved)
Data from all three casinos who petitioned the Board (and received approval) to reduce the number of slot machine terminals testified that their data shows the reduction will NOT negatively impact each respective casino's GTR (Gross Terminal Revenue).
Meadows specifically testified that they never once experienced more than a 75% occupancy rate at their (currently 3,000) slots, for an entire 365-day period that they accrued this data. Meadows has received approval to reduce their total slot machines from approx. 3,000 to roughly 2,500.
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No update concerning any potential launch of Pennsylvania online poker was discussed.
The most recent commentary I've heard concerning potential PA online poker launch was earlier this month from Steve Ruddock, who did an interview with
House of Cards.
Steve comments that geolocation issues are less of a burden these days and that Pennsylvania isn't experiencing the geolocation regulatory burdens that New Jeresey faced years ago when launching online casinos.
At
18:00, Steve says he doesn't believe PA online poker has been "excluded," but rather that online casino products could be a higher priority at this time. Steve also says that Pennsylvania is likely to one day seek a partnership with the MSIGA cross-state compact between NJ/NV/DE, but that the new USDOJ-OLC Wire Act opinion could delay any potential shared-liquidity partnership.
At
32:54, the topic of some casinos not being interested in offering online poker is broached. At
34:10, the topic of whether online casinos will
benefit or
compete with land-based commercial casinos is discussed. Cross-state customers choosing their favorite casinos plus b&m/online market crossover are also brought up, and at
36:05, Steve says that Parx was "griping" about having lost poker players in its land-based Pennsylvania casino years ago when New Jersey launched online poker.
The timestamps are spread out b/c of how the segments are arranged. Segments begin at
5:37,
13:30 and
30:00.
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Last edited by dhubermex; 08-14-2019 at 05:29 PM.