Gambling News by House of Odds

Eighteen people were arrested today during a nonviolent protest outside the
headquarters of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board after they arrived to
conduct a search for information about proposed gambling halls in
Philadelphia. The activist group Casino Free Philadelphia organized the
event to draw attention to its claim that the board has not released
sufficient information about the slot-machine parlors that could be located
near its members' homes. "They have a negative impact on neighborhoods and
families," said protester Morgan Jones, of Philadelphia's Fishtown
neighborhood, as he was led away in plastic zip-tie handcuffs. "We feel that
these were allowed in the dead of night without any public input." About 50
demonstrators, including students from a Philadelphia charter school,
attended the event, chanting such slogans as "Hey, hey, ho, ho, the public
has a right to know." Demonstrators read aloud from a "citizen search
warrant" as they sought entry to the gaming board's offices, which are in a
privately owned office building across the street from the Capitol. Security
officials kept the protesters out of the agency's fifth-floor offices by
closing a set of glass doors in front of the elevators. Demonstrators
remained at the building's security desk, and police arrested those who
ignored their requests to leave. Harrisburg City Police Capt. Pierre Ritter
said those arrested were being charged with disorderly conduct and released.
A Casino Free Philadelphia organizer, Anne Dicker, said the event went
according to plan.

Gaming board spokesman Doug Harbach said the protesters were not allowed to
go inside the agency's offices because they intended to search the offices
for documents, which Harbach said was illegal.

Harbach contends the agency has released much of what the protesters were
seeking, such as transcripts of public hearings on slots licenses and the
public presentations by slots applicants.

The gaming board plans to vote next week to award up to 11 licenses to
operate slots parlors. There are five applicants for two licenses set aside
for Philadelphia.

Asked Friday about protests against the gaming board and slots parlors,
gaming board chairman Tad Decker said the board understands that the slots
parlors will have an impact on communities, but he said the protests will
not have an effect on the voting.

He also said the board will not put off the vote to allow for public comment
on the final proposals by the slots applicants.

"At the end of the day, we've been picked to vote and we're going to fulfill
our statutory obligation to vote," Decker said.