National Council of Legislators from Gaming States President Shawn Fluharty on Thursday morning got the organization’s Summer Meeting started out by highlighting the event’s growth in his keynote address.
“We keep growing larger with every session we have,” Fluharty said, noting that the event at Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has attracted more than 300 attendees, including more than 100 legislators and regulators. “We talk about serious issues, and we have very important panels, but we also have some fun.”
Fluharty noted some of the activities for attendees, including an appearance by Pittsburgh Pirates owner Bob Nutting and an opportunity to meet Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Fame running back Jerome Bettis.
“We couldn’t be more excited to host the NCLGS Summer Meeting,” Rush Street CEO Tim Drehkoff said as he welcomed attendees to the company’s Pittsburgh property. “The work that they do to bring elected officials, regulators and their staff together, the stakeholders from across the country and in some cases, across the world, is essential to the health of our industry.”
Pennsylvania State Sen. Jay Costa, who represents the 43rd District of the commonwealth that includes portions of Pittsburgh, recounted a brief history of gaming in the state. Mostly forgotten now is that Pennsylvania once considered riverboat gambling. Costa said the need to support the agriculture and horse racing industries in the state were the impetus to gambling’s legalization in 2004.
“We’ve been part of this gaming legislative process for three decades,” Costa said, noting his colleagues in the Legislature. “We value the casino industry here in Pittsburgh. We view them as partners. We know that we need to work together … to be able to do what needs to be done in the space. And as we introduce legislation, we do legislation in a thoughtful way, we do it in a bipartisan way and we work with our colleagues on the other side of the aisle.”
