Several spurned suitors for a coveted license to operate a gambling establishment in PA are suing to have the deliberations opened up.
The rejected applicants will get a chance to make those points in person on May 15, when the state Supreme Court hears oral arguments on challenges to the slots licenses awarded Dec. 20 by state gambling regulators.
Their arguments were outlined in briefs dozens of pages long filed Monday with the court. Separate confidential briefs were also filed, containing information from the applicant’s files that the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board has withheld from public view.
The gaming board will have a chance to respond in its own briefs to the Supreme Court, which are due April 23. A spokesman said Tuesday that the agency is confident it will prevail in court.
“The board is sure that the record will support its decisions and that the process used to determine awards was not only designed to assure fairness to all parties, but was applied consistently by us throughout the licensing process,” spokesman Doug Harbach said in a statement.
The record they are so sure is fair that they don’t want to open it to public scrutiny? I smell a rat.
DeNaples, a politically connected businessman with interests in landfills, auto parts and real estate, was repeatedly allowed to skirt rules designed to allow competitors to critique each other’s plans, Matzel’s group said.
Changes to DeNaples’ application continued practically up until the gaming board’s vote, almost a week after the panel was to have stopped considering any new material, Matzel’s group said.
Nothing to see here. Please move along.