Pennsylvania Seeks Increase in Poker Licensing Staff
Written by Matt W | Thursday, March 4th, 2010
Now that poker and other table games are becoming a reality in the State of Pennsylvania, the state’s gambling regulators are requesting funds to pay the salaries of fifty more employees who will be hired to oversee the games. The roles of these employees will vary, ranging from background license checking for potential poker dealers to counting money at poker tables.
New compliance officers will be paid, on average, $37,000 a year.
There are currently just over 300 people employed by the Gaming Control Board, but this is not enough to cover the costs that the board foresees ahead of the introduction of poker. The Gaming Board has thus requested a 10.8% increase to its budget – or $3.6 million – next year.
The Chairman of the Gaming Control Board, Gregory Fajt, told a special Senate Appropriations Committee early this week that “table games are going to be much more labor intensive”.
Fajt was referring to the fact that, unlike slots revenues that are counted through a centralized computer system, poker revenue will need to be counted by special employees. Not only will someone need to physically count the money, but a supervisor will need to oversee the counting, and armed personnel would need to escort the employee with the money from the casino floor.
Pennsylvania casinos currently have seven permanent compliance representatives manning these establishments, and the state is hoping to increase this to ten per casino.
The Gaming Board also indicated that new people would need to be employed through its Bureau of Investigations and Enforcement ahead of the introduction of poker games, in order to examine requests and license new operators.
In addition, new lawyers would need to be hired in order to handle regulatory issues.
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· Written by Matt W · Filed Under Poker Gossip · Comments Off
