Latest news with #PresqueIsleDowns&Casino
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Dozen gather in Perry Square to honor Workers Memorial Day
Two rings of a bell filled Erie City Hall Monday night to remember the life of Igor Akopyan, an Erie man who died after falling down an elevator shaft while working in a West 12th Street business. On Monday, dozens of community members came to hear those bells for the 39th annual Workers Memorial Day service, an event that remembers all of those like Akopyan who died from a work-related incident. Presque Isle Downs & Casino in potential danger of closing — Here's who it will impact 'Overall, the importance of having an event like this is awareness. The more people are aware of the dangers that workers face, the more likely we are to do what we need to do to fix those problems, make sure that OSHA is properly funded,' said Bryan Churchill, president of the Erie-Crawford Central Labor Council. After a prayer and words from a local OSHA director, attendees took the service to a Perry Square memorial that honors those who died on the job. While there a local honor guard gave those who died a rifle salute followed by the playing of Taps on a trumpet. To finish the ceremony, attendees came to the memorial in Perry Square and put up a wreath to remember all those who lost their lives to work-related deaths. But the work isn't done for one local politician at least, who is trying to extend OSHA protection to public-sector workers. 'Currently, if you're a public sector worker, you don't have the same protections, so a classic example is let's say in Erie High, they're redoing the building. You have a private company that's doing electrical work and you have school district electricians working side-by-side. Unfortunately, an accident happens, and it's the private sector worker that's injured; he is covered by OSHA,' said State House Representative (D) Pat Harkins. Harkins said House Bill 308 just passed through the PA House three weeks ago, and if the bill makes it through the Senate, public sector workers in the state would receive OSHA protection. He said he got involved with the bill more than ten years ago after hearing the story of Jake Schwab, an Erie worker for the EMTA who died in 2014 from a work-related incident. As of now, the Jake Schwab Worker Safety Bill will head to Pennsylvania's Republican-controlled Senate for consideration. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Presque Isle Downs & Casino in potential danger of closing — Here's who it will impact
(WJET/WFXP) – When Presque Isle Downs & Casino opened in 2007, not everyone welcomed the new attraction with open arms. But as time went on, the casino proved to be a good neighbor and a prosperous tourist attraction. That is, until 2023, when skill games, which are similar to slot machines, became legal and not regulated by the state's strict casino laws. Now, they're popping up everywhere. 'New Year's Eve, busiest day of the year for us. I still have about 500 games that won't get played, because that's how far the demand has dropped off with all these other games on the market,' said Gary Hendricks, vice president and general manager of Presque Isle Downs and Casino. 'And of course, they're not paying, currently, a gaming tax. We pay a gaming tax, which is one of the highest in the country, is the highest in the country.' Pennsylvania Casinos pay a straight 57% gaming tax, but once you take into account the yearly $10 million revenue share Presque Isle Downs must give to the Erie County Gaming Revenue Authority, plus administrative fees. Hendricks said that tax is actually about 64%. 'Let's say, your household income, you got taxed at 64%, you're going to probably be trying to live a different way, right? And that's where we are. We don't want to think about tough decisions in the future, but we have to consider possibilities,' said Hentricks. Neighboring casinos in New York only pay 25%-30% tax, and Ohio pays 33%-43%. Hendricks said that's why those casinos can offer more incentives, drawing players away from Erie. Jennifer Mobilia: 'Is Presque Isle Downs and Casino in danger of closing?' Gary Hendricks: 'We're concerned today about the long-term sustainability of the property.' Hendricks said he's been sounding the alarm for three years to lawmakers in Harrisburg. Meanwhile, he's being forced to scale back, making Presque Isle Downs and Casino even less competitive. He said since 2019, he's had to eliminate about 250 jobs. Mobilia: 'What are the lawmakers from Erie County doing? Who's taking action? Hendricks: 'That, I… at this point, I don't know.' Mobilia: 'But you've been talking to them for over three years now, saying I need help, and nobody has done anything to help this place?' Hendricks: 'Not to the best of my knowledge. I mean, Pat Harkins is on the Gaming Oversight Committee. He has multiple facilities, skill-based facilities near his properties in town, so he's aware of it. Yeah.' Hendricks continued. Hendricks: 'We're going to get to a point where it's the straw that's gonna break the camel's back. We don't know when that is, but we need some relief. And you need to understand that this is serious.' Mobilia: 'What are some options to save money?' Hendicks: 'You can only save your way to the bottom line for so long, and that's what we've been doing… But we've done things as I talked about, closing overnight in table games, not serving lunch during the day from the restaurant, we serve it from the End Cafe, which is a much smaller footprint and easier to manage with less labor.' Mobilia: 'So it's not like you guys aren't trying.' Hendricks: 'Oh no, we're. We're actively looking for opportunities. Yes.' Mobilia asked Hendricks about cutting back on slot machines, but he said that by state law, the casino must have 1,500 slot machines operational at all times. Mobilia: 'So the race track. How is that going?' Hendricks: 'Race Track is always a struggle. There's not a lot of money in racing.' Mobilia: 'Have you guys considered phasing out the racing?' Hendricks: 'No, we're a category one, we're required to have racing.' Mobilia: 'Okay. So that's not an option to save money?' Hendricks: 'No.' Hendricks said he has gone to Harrisburg multiple times to talk to lawmakers about the challenges his casino is facing. Mobilia: 'Do you think they realize how serious this is?' Hendricks: 'I think they do now.' Mobilia: 'If you had a lawmaker sitting across from you right now, especially a lawmaker from Erie County, what would you say to that person?' Hendricks: 'I would ask him to get active, to get a voice, to give us the voice.' Meanwhile, reporter Nicole Lee spoke with stakeholders in Erie County who will be greatly impacted if the casino were to pull out. The gaming revenue provides tremendous tax relief through school tax bills and supports nonprofits that make up the very fabric of our community. Residents of Erie County who don't gamble may not pay much attention to Presque Isle Downs & Casino, but their school bills have been smaller because of it for years. 'It gives us property tax relief through school districts. We saw last year just $18.6 million in property tax relief. It also gives grants to ambulances and volunteer fire departments,' said Perry Wood, executive director of the ECGRA. The largest portion of gaming revenue goes to Erie County government and the Erie County Gaming Revenue Authority. According to Wood, Erie County has received an estimated $392 million in tax relief to date. The impact should this revenue not existing would be dramatic. 'Will it ultimately trickle down to the taxpayer? I believe it will. And like I say, not so much in Summit but Erie County would feel a big, a big hurt,' said Summit Township supervisor Jack Lee. That hurt would go beyond residents' pocketbooks. 'ECGRA funding really serves as an anchor for all of our arts and culture organizations in the community,' said Zach Flock, executive director of the Erie Playhouse. 'So, what would happen to the philharmonic if this ECGRA money went away?' asked Lee. 'We would have a budget hole to fill,' said Amy Denlinger, finance director of the Erie Philharmonic. 'For example, the ECGRA funding we received this year to quantify things would pay for about four pops weekends at the Warner.' 'It goes directly towards taking care of our animals, providing excellent animal care. It goes toward our programming, it goes, for example, to putting on events like Glow Wild,' said Roo Johancie, president and CEO of the Erie Zoo. 'It would have a huge impact on the tourism industry as well as the community. And I hope we never have to have that conversation,' said Christine Temple, with VisitErie. Clearly, the livelihood of the casino is critical to multiple segments of the community. Mobilia and Lee will continue to keep an eye on the situation and push for answers at the state level. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
02-03-2025
- Yahoo
Presque Isle Downs & Casino fined over $80k by PA Gaming Control Board
(WJET/WFXP) —The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board has fined the Presque Isle Downs & Casino over $80,000 for two infractions, the organization announced last week. According to the press release, the board approved fines against PID, LLC, the owner and operator of Presque Isle Downs & Casino, totalling $81,575. PID faces a $50,000 fine for having less than the approved number of active slot machines on the floor; and, a $31,575 fine for failure to timely file a Principal License application. During the board meeting, February 26, a total of 9 people were placed on the machines. Along with these two men, seven others were placed on the Involuntary Exclusion List, which prohibits individuals from either gaming in a casino, online, or Video Gaming Terminal location. Currently, 1,344 persons are on the Board's various Involuntary Exclusion Lists. Of these nine people, two men were banned from Pennsylvania casinos for leaving kids unattended. One man left a 5-year-old unattended in a vehicle in the valet parking lot at Rivers Casino Philadelphia for 12 minutes as he 'attempted to conduct financial business in the casino.' A second man left a 10-year-old unattended in a vehicle with the windows rolled up and engine not running in the parking garage of Wind Creek Casino for 45 minutes with an outside temperature of 90 degrees while he gambled on slot machines. The board also reviewed one request by a female requesting to be removed from the Involuntary Exclusion List, which was denied. She was placed on the list after she, in 2022, left three minors, ages 10, 14, and 15, unattended in a vehicle in the parking garage of Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course for one hour 41 minutes while she gambled at slot machines. 'Actions such as these to deny statewide gambling privileges serve as a reminder that adults are prohibited from leaving minors unattended in the parking lot or garage, a hotel, or other venues at a casino since it creates a potentially unsafe and dangerous environment for the children,' said the gaming control board on Wednesday. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
