and in your experience as director of diversity and community development at parks
how will the relocation of the sports book inside chickie and pete's enable parks to better serve
the community i think anytime you have hands-on and relationships and all of its relationships
that are built that pete has built in a strong way that we can only enhance those relationships
we have a relationship now with community college where we have a diversity inclusion program
that looks for leaders, women leaders, that looks for veterans.
We celebrate the diversity of the organization by helping with scholarships.
We have given money to GAMP, which is in South Philly, with their alumni.
The continued quest for intentional growth within the community is our passion.
Thank you. And could you elaborate a little bit on the relationship with the Community College of Philadelphia and Parks and how they will be benefited by opening the sports book inside Chiggies and Peds?
Thank you. Again, partnerships and the key partnership with the Community College is certainly one that Dr. Generals knows well, who's the head of the college there,
Because Parks is unusual in that it has connected with all the diversity groups, including those with disabilities, including those who are veterans, including those who are people of color and other organizations within or other people within the community college.
giving scholarships and motivating and mentoring our staff is reaching out and mentoring those
students and we look at it as long-term community development and workforce development so we look
for those kinds of opportunities and in your opinion would the presence of the sports book
and chickies and peets benefit the community i think it's a super opportunity for chickies and
Pete's for the community.
I think the community has a great opportunity to expand whatever programs give us suggestions
that might help in areas that we define engagement with and a continued relationship building
within that community.
And I think it's exciting for me because I recognize opportunity.
And I think Pete and his grounded approach to what he's done and he's been so successful with it can only enhance the community's benefits from our operation.
And in your opinion, would there be any injury to nearby properties or public health or safety if the sportsbook opens inside Chickies and Pete's?
Definitely no.
You can ask any partner that we deal with or have dealt with in the communities that we serve, local or regional.
They give you a lot of examples of safety and passion for helping is unparalleled in any of the communities that we serve.
whether it's here in the Ben Salem area, but in Philadelphia.
Philadelphia is one of our communities entirely that we draw people who need jobs from
that we continue to enhance as we go along in our strategies.
Thank you, Mr. Davis.
I have no further questions.
If the board has any questions.
Yeah, I have a question.
good afternoon sir
how many shifts will you have
and how many people will be working
in each shift
the next witness is the
operations guy
I'll wait
and for some reason I'm not able to get on
And for some reason, I'm not able to get on video, Tanya.
video Tanya it's saying
It's saying you cannot start your video because the host has stopped it.
I actually had the video changed during the presentation, hoping it would work.
No problem.
People don't need to see me, but I want to make sure I'm on the screen.
So, Chair, it should work now.
You can try it.
Nope, still says it's stopped.
Yeah, I'm an old football player, so you don't want to see my face.
I play for the 49ers and some of the
we didn't give you a party for video we got it now thank you
thank you thank you other questions for Mr. Davis Mr. Chairman
any questions from the board no
no thank you for the opportunity and uh thank you for uh taking time with me and uh our
presentation today thank you thank you for your testimony
My next witness is Matthew Cullen.
Mr. Cullen, you've been unmuted. You're free to speak.
Good afternoon, Mr. Cullen. Please identify yourself with a record, spell your last name, and let us know about your affiliation with Parks, and I'll swear you in.
Good afternoon. My name is Matthew Cullen, C-U-L-L-E-N. I am the Senior Vice President of Interactive Gaming and Sports at Parks Casino.
You're swearing for him to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
And your affiliation, again, was?
I run internet gaming and sports wagering for the casino.
Okay, thank you.
Mr. Marrione.
Thank you, Mr. Marrione.
Could you explain to the board and the public what the park's proposal is intended to achieve
in moving its sports book from 700 Packer Avenue to inside Chickies and Pete's,
It's a 2,600-square-foot area inside Chickies and Peets, Sports Park, 1526 Backer Avenue.
We have to downsize our current location.
Years ago, it was an ideal size, but now it's just too large and untenable for us to remain where we are.
We want to save our business, and we want to save the local jobs that we have,
and we want to continue to serve the South Philadelphia area.
We also want to help Chickies and Pete's because we have a longstanding relationship with Pete and his family and his employees and allow him to be more competitive in the neighborhood with the Cordish Casino, Philly Live, which is coming in.
So what we're proposing is to take our very large facility and downsize it into that very small, state-of-the-art, sort of miniature sportsbook in the back left-hand corner of the Chickies and Peets location.
What is, please describe to the word, what is the parts, race, and sportsbook?
Well, today it's a very large facility.
facility. It's first and foremost a food and beverage establishment, but in the days of COVID,
that's kind of fallen by the wayside for several months, which has put a lot of strain on the
business itself. But it's a secure and regulated horse racing and sports wagering facility
that contributes many, many hundreds of thousands of tax, hundreds of dollars of tax revenue
to the Commonwealth.
And have Parks and Chickies and Peets collaborated before?
Yes, we have.
As some of the other witnesses had attested, we have for many years,
both here in Van Salem as well as in Egg Harbor Township.
And has this relationship benefited both entities?
Yeah, very much so.
It's been a very positive relationship,
and that's the main reason that we wanted to focus on this project.
And what will happen to the existing turf club at 700 Packer Avenue when this move is completed?
Well, we'd relinquish our lease on that facility.
I can't speak to what the landlord at our current facility would do,
but then we would downsize that facility from what's currently 36,000 square feet
to the new location inside Chickies and Peets, which would be proposed at 2,600 square feet.
And why propose this greatly downsized unit located entirely inside Cheeky and Pete's?
Well, it's just a perfect mix. As Pete spoke to, it's a perfect mix of demographics. Sports
wagering enthusiasts and sports fans really are one and the same. And this activity is already
going on in bars and restaurants when you're able to go into those establishments on their
mobile phones or on a computer or in their homes. So the activity is already fully legal
The activity is already fully legal in the Commonwealth and has been for a couple of years now.
in the Commonwealth and has been for
And it's really an opportunity for Chickies and Peets to really up their game
and to provide an amenity that no other places would have
outside of any of the casino establishments that exist in the state.
And is the race and sports book subject to regulatory control by governmental units or agencies?
oh very much so it's one of the most if not the most highly regulated industry in the in the
commonwealth today and who regulates this this business there's several um because it's a because
we we have racing um horse racing wagering uh the pennsylvania racing commission does
in conjunction with the pennsylvania gaming control board as well as the liquor control board
currently. And will they continue to exercise regulatory control if this application is
approved and remove the sports book inside Chickie and Pete's? Absolutely, no doubt about it.
They're going to look at it very, very closely. They'll go through and walk through and do
several inspections of the facility before they would deem us operational. They'd be responsible
for licensing of all the individuals that would work in the facility in the sports book
itself, certify and regulate all the equipment that would be used to take the wagers, regulate
all of the wagering activity that would happen day in, day out across both wagering and
sports, and then provide oversight of all the applicable laws relative to the Commonwealth
and the regulations of those regulatory bodies,
the Racing Commission and the Gaming Control Board.
Will there be any slot machines or table games inside the racing sportsbook?
No, no, there never will.
It's not a casino facility or a racetrack, and it never will be.
And in your opinion, will approval of these changes
have an adverse impact on the local community or neighborhood?
No, not whatsoever.
Not whatsoever.
And do you anticipate any increase in vehicular traffic if the proposal is approved?
We don't.
You know, we're currently located down the street.
We're, and obviously, as I stated earlier, in a much larger facility.
And we would, you know, by downsizing, we would expect even less foot traffic as a result.
Will approval result in overcrowding of the parking lot used by Chicky and Pete patrons and the Parks, Race, and Sportsbook patrons?
No, not at all.
And we actually, I believe, which we will be submitting as part of our testimony, a study that we conducted, or maybe you'll be speaking to another witness about that?
Yes, we have a separate traffic engineer.
um will the uh in your opinion will the approval provide any benefit to the community
absolutely i mean jobs first and foremost it's going to bolster chickies and peets
um you know providing them with more amenities to remain you know competitive in the neighborhood
itself um and and with the the environment changing with the the new casino just down
the street coming online in january that which is going to add even more competitive pressure
to Pete's existing business, and ours for that matter as well, we definitely believe that us
joining forces and working together is beneficial for everyone involved and the community.
And you said you would bring jobs to this facility. How many jobs are coming here?
Well, currently we've got about, depending on the time of year and the sporting events that
are happening and the racing that's occurring, anywhere from 35 to 45 jobs currently. Unfortunately,
even with this downsizing, we would bring those jobs back to about 25, so a net loss of probably
10 to 15 jobs, but it's better than losing everything, which is what we would face if we
don't make the move. And are these permanent jobs? It's a combination, mainly permanent,
and then also some part-time jobs as well.
Do Parks employees receive benefits?
Yes, they do.
They do.
Full health care, dental, vision, 401K.
And does Parks – will Parks provide security for the race and sports book?
Any time that we're open, which, as Pete testified,
will be open during his business hours.
and we'll fit within the confines of those business hours,
we will have security at the entrance
security at the entrance within the sports book. So no one under the age of 21 would be permitted
within the sports book.
So no one under the-
to enter into the sports book facility, the sports wagering area within Chickies and Pete's
without first showing proper identification to a security guard or two security guards.
And will the, just to reiterate, make this clear, will the sports book be open when
chickies and pizzas closed it will not and do you believe that there will be any adverse impacts
on the local community if the application is approved by the zba we do not why why not
well i mean like as i stated before i mean we're doing this to save our existing business
and and to help help pete's business um and to continue to to promote local jobs and and keep
local jobs in the area like pete said and and for us as well a lot of our employees come from the
neighborhood um and we want to help to to build up pete's business ahead of what's planned down
the street with the new casino because it's going to be it's going to be ultra competitive for him
to differentiate himself with all of the f and b options food and beverage options that they're
planning to open within that facility, which, by the way, will probably be open 24-7, which is
going to put a tremendous strain, we would believe, on his business, which is why we came together
to try and join forces on this venture. Thank you, Mr. Cullen. I have no further
questions for him, Mr. Chairman. Thank you. Mr. Cullen, in regards to your customers currently
at 700 Packer Avenue, would you happen to know where those customers are coming from?
Do you have any way of knowing that?
I know there are people, I've probably been there four times in all the years you've been open.
I always noticed that it was mostly local people, but do you have any sense of how that breaks down?
We don't have a 100% transparent sense of how that breaks down. When you come into a retail wagering facility for racing or sports, everything is done anonymously. And what I mean by that is you have to show ID to walk in.
So you have to prove to our security guard at the entrance that you're of age, that is 21 and over, to enter the facility.
Our tellers and our managers and supervisors that work the various shifts when we're open at our current location, they get to know customers.
And a lot of those customers, you're right, are from the general area within several blocks, actually, and have been going there for decades.
And we would expect a lot of those patrons to start going to Chickie's and Pete's as well once we move the establishment.
Your customer base, pretty much, I'm not putting words in your mouth, are pretty much local area residents.
When I say local, South Philadelphia, generally speaking?
Thank you.
Anybody else have any questions?
Any board members?
Any questions?
uh tanya before i go any further we are at uh four minutes to one