We're a firm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Thank you.
Mr. Bonney, would you please provide us with your full name, and I'll square you in.
Good morning.
My name is Paul Bonney.
My address is 325 Chestnut Street, Suite 1109.
Good morning.
Good morning.
Bonnie is spelled B as in boy, O-N-I.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Gentlemen, before we begin, I believe at the last hearing, both sides had agreed or stipulated
that uh the application and the the application had it was not being considered a casino
is that correct that's what somewhere along the line of testimony a witness was brought in from
the parks casino i believe he was a security guard there and the word casino and slot machines kind
got tossed around so i'm just asking that we refrain from referring to this facility as a casino
and or the application uh as it as it's being presented be referred to as anything to do with
the casino excuse me chair this is sharon can would it be okay if i confirm that the um both
mr bonnie and mr mattione agree with where we believe we are at this point procedurally
that the original hearing was the start of the special exception hearing following that there
was a hearing on i believe february 10th where we considered the appeal against lni that was voted on
and today we are going back to the special exception hearing is that mr bonnie and mr
Mr. Bonney and Mr. Maglione, is that your understanding of where we are?
is that your understanding of where we are yeah
Yes, I just would like to make clear, though, that we realized that the zoning board last time
made a determination that this is not a casino under the zoning code.
We disagree with that.
So I wouldn't say that we would, Mr. Chair, you know, we do not stipulate to that,
But we realized that was the decision that was made. And for purposes of this hearing, we will live with that decision. But we certainly don't agree with it. And if we were to not prevail today, we would likely raise that as an issue for appeal. But I'm certainly, you know, I'm not trying to relitigate that issue today. So I realized that that was decided and we'll live with that decision for purposes of this hearing.
And if I misspoke, I apologize, but I thought that was an agreement that would have been made between you and Mr. Matteoni, that the title or the reference to this application as being part of a casino association was something that you both had stipulated to would not be pursued.
Now, if I'm wrong, I apologize.
But anyway, I think I think your recollection is is incorrect, if with all due respect, well, you know, we still believe, you know, but we still believe a variance is necessary.
But, you know, for the purposes of this hearing, we respect the board decision and we will live with it.
what we will try not to refer to this as a casino. If we do by accident, at one point or another,
we don't mean to relitigate that issue. But, you know, fair enough. Thank you. Thank you.
All right, Mr. Manione, are you up now? Mr. Chair, when we last convened, we were in the, well,
So, Jerry Fretz, the security expert for Parks, was being cross-examined by Mr. Bonney.
That's where we left off.
And then after that, I believe we have no further witnesses to present, but we have our witnesses.
We have one, two, three, four, four witnesses for cross-examination by Mr. Bonney.
Our case is done.
We've actually had two witnesses be cross-examined in full.
and now we have to finish Mr. Fretz
who was in the middle of cross-examination
and then we have four other witnesses
who have not been cross-examined yet
and then Mr. Bonney, whatever case he has to put on.
That's fine.
You concur with that, Mr. Bonney?
Yes, I do, but I would like to,
and let me give a little, a similar statement.
First of all, I would like to ask the board, if it can,
you know what time do you believe we're going to adjourn today you know give or take uh i there's
no way that's going to be dictated by council well i i how many witnesses you have and how
lengthy your testimony well i understand i'm just saying it would be great if we could finish today
oh we all agree on that and and i'm and i'm trying to get a sense of how much time we have you know
And I think last time we went to about 1 or 1.30.
Is that feasible that we could have that much time today?
Hi, Chair.
This is Tanya.
We're looking at about 12 o'clock.
I'm sorry, Tanya.
Nope, that's right, Chair.
Thank you kindly.
Okay, so we're looking about at 12 o'clock stop.
All right, two hours.
Okay, well, I'll do my best.
Now, I'm not so sure, but I'll do my best.
So, Mr. Mattione, I would like to conclude my cross of Mr. Fretz.
And then I would like to do some very short cross-examination of Mr. Cullen and Mr. Shiraki.
Very brief.
Sure, they're both on today.
Okay, great.
So let's start with Mr. Fretz since he was in the middle of his testimony last time.
And then I just want to mention I have, I think, three witnesses.
One is very lengthy and the other two are sort of more medium.
and then of course you know if we get there I have I'm sure we both have closing arguments so
Mr. Fretz if he could be um Mr. Fretz good morning good morning Mr. Bonney okay nice to
talk to you again I hope you're well good morning Mr. Fretz I need to swear you in again your full
name? Gerald W. Fretz Jr. F-R-E-T-Z. You swear to tell the truth, the whole truth,
nothing but the truth? Yes, sir, I do. Thank you. Good morning, Mr. Fretz. I want to talk
Thank you. Good morning, Mr. Fretz. I want to talk very briefly about the security that you would envision at this facility.
I'll talk very briefly about
You know, I know some things are confidential and I don't want to get into those areas, but I just want to, you know, in that degree of detail or anything, but I just want to give you to give the board an overview.
So just to remind everybody, you're thinking of two or three security guards on the premises at all times that it's open?
Yes, sir. That would be my understanding.
Okay. And that's all done in conjunction with the Gaming Control Board?
Yes, sir.
Okay. So if they would allow you to have one, you may have one. If they would require you to have four, you would have four.
That's an executive decision above my pay grade, but I would recommend that we would have at least two.
Okay, but I guess what I'm saying is that this is a regulated issue and that the state has something, plays a part in this. Is it fair to say?
Yes, sir, that's correct.
Okay. There's also a lot of talk in the regulations and in the law and in the various materials about surveillance.
So I assume as a basic matter, just as a first cut, that there's video cameras situated around the facility.
That's another department, but I would suspect that they would have a number of cameras in there to to observe what's taking place.
It's typically recorded. So there is an event that we need to recall that it's that video was available.
Okay. When you say another department, I guess I thought, you know, you're the, what is your job title again?
Sir, I'm the director of security. I'm in charge of physical security. We have a director of surveillance, Mr. David Norcutt, and his expertise is in surveillance. We work together as a team here at the casino.
him. Okay. So he's a colleague of yours. You're in charge of physical security. He's in charge
of surveillance. Yes, sir. That's correct. Okay. But you have some appreciation for what he does
and vice versa. Yes, sir. Okay. So what is the purpose of this surveillance? And I'll be a little
more um forward on it is is part of the purpose of this surveillance to keep an eye on the employees
it would be to keep an eye on the employees it would be to uh ensure that there was no
cheating taking place in some manner uh and and if there was any kind of a special event
that took place it would be all recorded and it would be retrievable
Excuse me for the interruption. Mr. Fritz, or maybe this might be a question for both Mr. Fritz and Mr. Mattione's client. Are there currently surveillance cameras in Chicky and Pete's?
I personally can't answer that.
Mr. Mattione?
I do not know the answer, but Mr. Chiraphi's on, so he could answer it.
Yeah, if you can get that, and then I'll ask, would the security cameras in this off-track
bedding room be separate and apart from the surveillance cameras in Chicken Pete's?
Someone can answer that.
That would be helpful.
Thank you.
I think that I could personally answer that.
So in the casino, the surveillance video is all regulated by the Pennsylvania Gaming
Control Board.
So I don't know that the surveillance equipment that is currently in place in Chicky and Pete's and the surveillance video that we would have as regulated by the gaming board would be one in the same.
But Pete Chiraki would probably be a better individual to question.
either way though there will be surveillance cameras in this room they probably exist now
i'm assuming that's why i'd like if mr chirock is available or someone to
pizza pizza on and told me he would be on i can't see whether it's on but told me he would
be on so obviously and he's going to be a cross-exam by mr bonnie all right well i just
didn't i didn't want to belabor the point of surveillance if it's all one and the same that's
why I was asking. All right. Sorry for the interruption, Mr. Bond. That's okay. You know,
when we talked to Mr. Chiraki in a couple of minutes, you know, remind me, I'm writing down
to ask him about this. But, you know, the way I hear Mr. Fretz is that this is not just a desire
um not just a not just a desire on the part of parks but also a regulatory requirement and
you know i'm guessing those requirements come with some specifications and and uh
something like that do you know mr frets if the state of pennsylvania or the commonwealth
you know game and control board um you know has you know the ability to look at those recordings
or the right to ask for those recordings?
They do, as well as law enforcement.
Okay, thank you.
And you said special events.
Are you talking about like a party
or you're talking about a negative special event?
No, a negative special event.
Okay, an altercation or cheating or something like that.
Yes, sir.
And you said that the videos are recorded. Are you saying that they are not monitored on a real-time basis, that there's no sort of person in a booth, you know, watching for screens or something like that?
To the best of my knowledge, they're remotely visible and they're remotely observable by a live person.
But if there is a significant event or some type of criminal activity, that event would have been recorded and saved and afforded to law enforcement or the gaming board if needed.
Okay, so the person that has the various screens, are they at the parks facility in Ben Salem?
I don't have that information, sir.
Okay, thank you.
What other types of security categories are there for this facility?
So there would be a physical security presence of security officers who would ensure that no one under the age of 21 had access to that area of the property.
We utilize current equipment to detect fraudulent identifications, and security officers are aware that if someone were to give a fraudulent document or if the document was expired, it's not a valid document, they would not be allowed access to that portion of the facility.
Okay. Would you agree with me that like most things in life, that that's not 100% perfect?
Yes, sir.
Okay. And that once in a while someone has an ID that slips by?
Yes, sir.
Okay, thank you. So is the surveillance, so these guards that are checking the IDs are
are outside the glass doors um i think we've all seen those images of the front door of the sports
book is is glad they're glass doors it has parks on it uh and i think mr you know i recall an
exchange with mr hollum and um i think during the first hearing where you know he remarked well
where does where does the guard station um isn't there some sort of podium or something and i think
Mr. Shiraki said, yeah, I think that we probably should have put that in the rendering.
So my question is, does the video surveillance, is that aimed at the, among other places,
does that, is that also aimed at the guard station?
Yes, sir.
That would be my understanding.
I don't have any other questions for this witness.
Thank you, Mr. Franson.
Thank you again for being here.
You're welcome.
I have no further questions for Mr. Frantz.
Okay, thank you. I'd like to move on to cross-examination of Mr. Cullen if he's available.
He's supposed to be.
Cullen, are you out there?
Mr. Cullen you can unmute yourself. I am unmuted. Mr. Cullen I'm sorry I had Cullen. Mr. Cullen
please identify yourself spell your full name and I'll swear you in. My name is Matthew Cullen
M-A-T-T-H-E-W Cullen C-U-L-L-E-N. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth
nothing but the truth? Yes I do. Good morning Mr. Cullen how are you today? I'm doing well thank
you good morning thank you thanks for being with us could you remind the board of your job title
at parks yes i am the senior vice president of interactive gaming and sports wagering for parks
and sports wagering for Parks Casino. Okay, can you, that sounds, you know, on its face to be
Casino.
sort of, that you have two halves to your, or two parts to your purview. Can you just
generally explain to us, I think sports wagering, I think we're somewhat more acquainted of given
in this hearing. Can you talk about the interactive gaming part of your world? What does that mean?
What kind of gambling is that? Well, we offer gaming on table games, slot machines, as well
as sports betting on mobile devices, as well as on computers throughout the Commonwealth.
Okay. And this is a relatively new rollout of gambling products in the Commonwealth,
not just but by other uh operators there's several several operators in the commonwealth
and the the activity uh was regulated and launched uh almost two years ago okay so it's fair to say
that now um i or anyone in the commonwealth can go onto a parks platform or app on my on their
mobile phone and gamble on my mobile phone on on the parks app on a slot machine visualization or a
blackjack game of that sort is that fair to say well not exactly you have to be 21 years of
of age in order to open an account and and fund an account you have to have an active bank account
And then you have to allow, as part of the regulations put forward by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, you have to prove that you're in the Commonwealth when you're logging into your account and trying to play a game.