Thursday, December 21, 2006

A dispute might be brewing among state regulators over who will oversee
Pennsylvania's multibillion-dollar casino industry. Auditor General Jack
Wagner on Tuesday told the Gaming Control Board he intends to be the "fiscal
watchdog of gaming operations and related state programs." As the board
prepared to vote today on awarding 11 slot machine casino licenses
statewide, Wagner said he plans to issue a report card on each casino --
showing what portion of their workforces is hired from within Pennsylvania
as well as how well those operations met diversity goals and conducted
background checks on employees. Wagner's statement "gives us pause because
it appears that the Auditor General's Office is seeking to also gain
oversight of the gaming industry," said Doug Harbach, a board spokesman. The
board "has sole regulatory authority over the gaming industry in the
commonwealth," Harbach said. But he said the board welcomes the "interest of
the auditor general in monitoring the work of this agency" and would
cooperate as required by law. "We have the legal authority to audit the
Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, every way and backwards," Wagner said.
The state's 2004 slots law does not require casinos to hire Pennsylvanians,
but Wagner said his priority in an audit would be measuring to what extent
the gambling industry fills jobs from within the state's borders. It's fair
game, because slots proponents promised 10,000 to 15,000 industry jobs in
the state when the law was passed, said Wagner, a former state senator. Jobs
are important because most of the casinos will be located near the borders
with West Virginia, Ohio, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey and New York,
Wagner said. "All of that is well and good, but secondary to the real
problem, which is the legislation" legalizing slots, said gambling opponent
Dianne Berlin, coordinator of CasinoFreePA. The first audit might be
available by the end of 2007, Wagner said. Asked how he would access the
private personnel records of casino companies, Wagner said he expects to get
the information from the Gaming Control Board.