Editor's Note: On December 6, 2007 the Pennsylvania Gaming Oversight Committee held a public hearing at the Mt. Airy Casino and Resort. The hearing addressed the economic/social impact that the casino resort has had so far on the surrounding communities. Bill Kearney was asked to testify and following are his comments.
 

My name is Bill Kearney; I am a former compulsive casino gambling degenerate who's been trying to educate the citizens of our state along with our government officials on the pitfalls of the casino product. For over three years I've been addressing and proving that there is a major flaw in our gaming law, which is, there are no safeguards or provisions in place that will protect today's casino gamblers and future casino gamblers from becoming what I once was. In other words, Pennsylvania casinos are operating with no consumer protection. 

Our Gaming Law has given our casino operators the right to operate with deceptive and fraudulent practices, which in return will breed compulsive casino gamblers, and that breeds criminals. 

Before I go into detail on what those deceptive and fraudulent practices are, I want every one at this hearing to know that since our Gaming Bill passed in 2004, this vital information has been mailed, E-mailed, and faxed to governor Rendell and his staff, every member of our House of Representatives along with their staff, our Senate members and their staff, all the members of our Gaming Control Board and their staff. I've sent it to our Bureau of Drug and Alcohol Officials who are now going to address the compulsive gambling problem.

I've also sent it to our Secretary of Banking, members of the Pa. Liquor Control Board, and our Number One Lawman, Attorney General Tom Corbett and his staff. I have also sent this information to other governing agency, religious congregations, and other organizations like (MADD) Mothers Against Drunk Driving.  I have also talked with all of those who I have just mentioned and you can view and listen to our conversation by going on the web-site YOU-TUBE and putting my name in the search engine. 

Now here's a few of those deceptive and fraudulent practices. 

Pa. casinos are not aloud to issue any form of credit but they can cash up to $2500.00 in personal checks in a 24 hour period, and they're using a third party in order to secure these transactions. Here at Mount Airy Casino they're using Global Payments Inc. Now I have talked with more then one executive at Global Payments Inc. and they informed me that the system they use dose not check the casino patron's account at the time of these transactions to see weather or not these funds are available. So if the casino patron is in heat, and writes a bad check and the casino cashes it, and there is no money in that account, would that be considered a form of credit, not to mention, tempting their patron to commit a crime. 

Throughout the casinos you'll see an abundance of ATMs, those machines allow casino patrons to make credit-cash advancements, now if the casino operators are getting paid a percentage from those ATM operators, would that make the casinos part of a credit transactions. 

Our casinos are open 24/7, now I doubt if any of you have been in a casino on a week day during those early morning hours, that's when I like to see our casino operators take our Legislators on a tour through the casinos so they could witness pathological casino gambling in full bloom. But I know that's not going to happen, and I know that we won't be seeing too many of our Legislators gambling in our casinos and that's because every one of them I talked to said they don't gamble. And if you don't believe me, ask one. And of course we won't be seeing any of our Gaming Control Board members or any of the over three hundred employees that work for our Gaming Board and that's because they're not allowed to use the casino product. 

How can this be when Gov. Rendell and those of you who support casino gambling say it's a form of entertainment no different then going to the ballpark or theater. Are the Gaming Board members and employees not aloud to gamble in our casinos because they might become compulsive gamblers? Or is it because, we wouldn't won't them hanging around with those scrupulous characters that the casino environment attracts. Can any one in this room give me another product or form of entertainment in our state that a governing agency is not aloud to purchase or participate in? For an example, are the members of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board aloud to purchase and drink alcoholic beverages? 

And specking about alcoholic beverages, not all of our casinos do, but some are serving free booze. Now is there any other industry in our state aloud to serve free booze while doing business, can you imagine how many lawsuits there would be if your bank, insurance, mortgage, stockbroker, or automobile dealerships were aloud to serve free booze. 

And I'd like to know how many DUI’s occurred from a night out at the casinos or how many alcoholics started up their addiction from those free drinks. And I'm sure there's a few of us in this room who after a few to many have done something stupid, so why are we letting the casino operators medicate those who are already doing something stupid. 

Our casino operators are offering those so-called freebies known as COMPES, and they're tracking their patron's money and time spent gambling with COMP-CARDS. These cards track every move the patron makes in the casino. This COMP-CARD system determines whether you're going to get the buffet or the penthouse suite. The comps or so-called freebies make some justify their losses as they become addicted to the casino product. The COMP-CARD is their syringe; it's how they deliver their drug.

Now I can go on and on with other deceptive and fraudulent practices, but my time is limited, so let's get down to why I'm here today.

From the day our Gaming Bill was drafted, passed, the Gaming Control Board established, our Reformed Gaming Bill passed and this Gaming Oversight Committee formed, there has not been one piece of legislation passed that would stop the casino operators from breeding casino gambling degenerates. 

Now it's true that our Gaming Bill does address the compulsive casino gambling problem with things like a 1-800 GAMBLER get help number, and a 24-hour-a-day, 7-day-a-week hotline that provides crisis counseling. There's also a self exclusion list for those who become addicted to the casino product. But all of these provisions address the obsessive gambling problem after one becomes a casino gambling junkie. So my question to this committee and to all the others governing this industry is why are you waiting for the casualties to come home. 

Today there are two Bills, one in our House of Representatives (HB 783) introduced by Rep. Clymer and one in our Senate (SB 423) introduced by Sen. Wonderling. These bill’s would make the casino operators who are already tracking their patrons’ money and time spent gambling with COMP-CARDS to send monthly statements.

When I brought up the Bill to send monthly statements to Gov. Rendell on the PCN TV call in show, he said more then once that he would sign this legislation and he said something that I already known, and that is, our Gaming Control Board in their regulations can make the casinos send monthly statements. 

It's been almost a year since this Gaming Oversight Committee was formed and in this time this Committee has held a hearing on Rep. DeWeese House Bill #2121; this bill would permit table games in our casinos. There has also been a voting meeting scheduled for Rep. Pallone house Bill #947 this bill would permit poker tournaments in our casinos. 

Now I don't know about any one else in this room but it makes me wonder how Bills that would bring more gambling to our casinos, which in return will escalate the compulsive casino gambling problem have been put forward, and Representative Clymer's Bill to mail monthly statements that will enable gamblers and their family members to spot a loved one's gambling problem before it gets out of hand, has not been moved forward. 

In ending I like to make a few things clear. The casino operators and many of those who support casino gambling oppose the idea of sending monthly statements. But their arguments are lame. They say it would infringe on ones privacy, and that it would trigger compulsive gamblers after reviewing their statements to go back to the casino to win back their losses. They ask the question, what proof or research is there that sending monthly statements will stop one from becoming a compulsive gambler, and if sending statements is such a deterrent then why doesn't other states with casino gambling make their gaming operators send them?

To answer the privacy issue, the total reward card holder knows by singing up for this program all of their gambling activity is being gathered in order to determine the value of comps they will receive, so where's the invasion of ones privacy. And when they say it would trigger compulsive gamblers after reviewing their statements to go back to the casino to win back their losses. I say, when someone see how much they over spent on their credit cards do they go out and spend more? And let's not forget, with your credit card you have the option to make minimum payments. In other words, when patrons see their casino statements it will be real money blown. 

And the reason why other states with casino gambling don't issues monthly statements is because gaming operators have made state Legislators and Gaming Board Officials aware that such a provision could affect the casinos bottom line which would reduce the tax revenues going into state coffers. And then there's this possibility, by sending these monthly statements there would be a paper trail that shows how casinos cultivate their patrons into compulsive gamblers and this in return would bring major and winnable law suites against the casinos. 

The purpose of the monthly statement is to enable gamblers and their family members to address a gambling problem before one becomes addicted. It will also keep our casino operators in line, because believe me when I tell you, there is not one casino operator or employee ever going to stop someone from destroying themselves and their families.

You get a statement from your Credit Card Company, Bank, Mortgage Company and so on, so where's the harm in making this Billion Dollar Industry mail them. 

Thank you for your time, and if you have any question I'd be happy to answer them. 

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