{"id":180279,"date":"2021-07-19T12:22:55","date_gmt":"2021-07-19T19:22:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=180279"},"modified":"2021-07-19T15:08:25","modified_gmt":"2021-07-19T22:08:25","slug":"smyler-tabbed-as-new-chair-for-pennsylvania-gaming-control-board","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/smyler-tabbed-as-new-chair-for-pennsylvania-gaming-control-board\/","title":{"rendered":"Smyler Tabbed as New Chair of Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board"},"content":{"rendered":"

Monday marks a new era in Pennsylvania gaming. Denise Smyler will take over as chairperson of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. She is succeeding David Barasch, whose six-year stint as PGCB chair ended last week.<\/p>\n

\"PGCB
Denise Smyler (second to left) is sworn in as a member of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board in October 2018. On Monday, she became the board’s chair, succeeding David Barasch (far left), who retired after serving six years as the chairman of the gaming authority. Others in the picture are Commissioner Mark Mustio (second from right) and Executive Director Kevin O’Toole. (Image: PGCB)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Gov. Tom Wolf (D) made the announcement last week, picking the commonwealth\u2019s former general counsel to head one of the state\u2019s highest-profile public agencies. Wolf also tabbed Nedia Ralston to fill Barasch\u2019s seat on the board.<\/p>\n

PGCB members are limited to two three-year terms.<\/p>\n

Smyler, who was first appointed to a three-year term on the board in October 2019, managed her own law firm for more than 16 years before joining the Wolf Administration in 2015.<\/strong><\/p>\n

At last Wednesday\u2019s Gaming Control Board meeting, Smyler thanked Barasch for leading the board in a \u201csteady and even-handed\u201d fashion.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’ve learned a lot from David,\u201d she said. \u201cHe’s always been a friend, but as the chairman, I was in awe of how well he could navigate all of the difficult issues that have been presented, especially under the COVID 19 restrictions.\u201d<\/p>\n

O’Toole: PGCB Benefited from Barasch’s Experience<\/h2>\n

Barasch was honored with a resolution commending his service to the board at last week\u2019s hearing.<\/p>\n

His six years at the helm of the board coincided with a rapid expansion of gaming statewide. That included the legalization of video terminals at truck stops, as well as the launch of mobile sports betting and iGaming<\/a>. In addition, the state has also opened two new casinos<\/a>, with another preparing to open next month.<\/p>\n

In a statement, PGCB Executive Director Kevin O\u2019Toole said the state and the agency were served well by Barasch\u2019s deep experience during his term.<\/p>\n

\n

At no time in the history of this agency were those qualities more important in a Board Chair than during the past year of unexpected and unprecedented disruptions to the gaming industry due to COVID-19,\u201d<\/strong> O\u2019Toole said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

At the end of last week\u2019s meeting, Barasch noted that his term with the board was a \u201cchallenging but extremely rewarding\u201d opportunity, and was proud of the work the gaming board accomplished during his term as chair.<\/p>\n

Before taking over as chair of the gaming board, Barasch\u2019s career as a public servant included serving as Pennsylvania\u2019s Consumer Advocate, the deputy secretary for the state\u2019s Department of Revenue, and as the US Attorney for Pennsylvania\u2019s middle district.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis concludes a legal career for me that has spanned 47 years, hard to believe, in both state and federal government as well as in private practice,\u201d he said. \u201cI think it’s kind of fitting that I’m finally retiring from public service, where I first started my career.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wolf Appoints Staffer to Penn. Gaming Board<\/h2>\n

Ralston comes to the board having most recently served as the director of Pennsylvania\u2019s Southeast Regional Office, a position she\u2019s held for more than six years.<\/p>\n

Before that, she was the deputy finance director for Wolf\u2019s gubernatorial campaign in 2015.<\/p>\n

\u201cNedia has been a great asset to the commonwealth over the years, and I am confident she will continue to be so in her new position,\u201d Wolf said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Ralston\u2019s public service experience includes serving on the board of the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the Community College of Philadelphia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Monday marks a new era in Pennsylvania gaming. Denise Smyler will take over as chairperson of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. She is succeeding David Barasch, whose six-year stint as PGCB chair ended last week. Gov. Tom Wolf (D) made the announcement last week, picking the commonwealth\u2019s former general counsel to head one of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":180280,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[61,13592],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSmyler Tabbed as New Chair of Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Denise Smyler, the commonwealth\u2019s former general counsel, replaces David Barasch, whose six-year stint as PGCB chair ended last week.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Smyler Tabbed as New Chair of Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Denise Smyler, the commonwealth\u2019s former general counsel, replaces David Barasch, whose six-year stint as PGCB chair ended last week.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/smyler-tabbed-as-new-chair-for-pennsylvania-gaming-control-board\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-07-19T19:22:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-07-19T22:08:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/EHaIA6SWsAATWGB-scaled.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Steve Bittenbender\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Steve Bittenbender\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/smyler-tabbed-as-new-chair-for-pennsylvania-gaming-control-board\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/smyler-tabbed-as-new-chair-for-pennsylvania-gaming-control-board\/\",\"name\":\"Smyler Tabbed as New Chair of Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/smyler-tabbed-as-new-chair-for-pennsylvania-gaming-control-board\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/smyler-tabbed-as-new-chair-for-pennsylvania-gaming-control-board\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/EHaIA6SWsAATWGB-scaled.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-07-19T19:22:55+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-07-19T22:08:25+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/eb30e765d812fc9b38b333f8d13068b2\"},\"description\":\"Denise Smyler, the commonwealth\u2019s former general counsel, replaces David Barasch, whose six-year stint as PGCB chair ended last week.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/smyler-tabbed-as-new-chair-for-pennsylvania-gaming-control-board\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/smyler-tabbed-as-new-chair-for-pennsylvania-gaming-control-board\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/smyler-tabbed-as-new-chair-for-pennsylvania-gaming-control-board\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/EHaIA6SWsAATWGB-scaled.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/EHaIA6SWsAATWGB-scaled.jpeg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1920,\"caption\":\"Denise Smyler (second to left) is sworn in as a member of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board in October 2018. 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