The editorial " Gaming Out-Of-Control Board: Reform it " (May 29 and TribLIVE.com) related that I considered the work and report of a grand jury investigation of the start-up of gaming in Pennsylvania as a failure.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board takes the report very seriously. My response was an effort to distinguish that the information in the report does not clearly reflect the current gaming law or the current operation of the agency.
We have always acknowledged that missteps and mistakes were made in getting this new agency and industry into operation. In kind, we have never shied away from working closely with the Legislature, whose 2010 Gaming Act reforms included:
• assuring adequate separation of the Bureau of Investigations and Enforcement (BIE) and its work from the board
• prohibiting non-BIE involvement that might lead to limiting the scope of a background investigation
• mandating that BIE's Office of Enforcement Counsel prepare the final background investigation reports and prohibiting the BIE from disclosing any portion of such reports to any board member prior to their final submission
• and extending from one year to two years the post-board-employment prohibition for board employees who go to work for a casino.
We understand the gravity of the grand jury report, our mission to protect the integrity of gaming, and that our work must be transparent to the public. Thus, we will work on improvements and, where appropriate, make changes to ensure that legalized gaming will be a safe and profitable venture for Pennsylvania for years to come.
Greg Fajt
The writer is the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board's chairman.
