commented the other day how I bumped into you at a very gratuitous time chair Crosby had already told me oh everything has to be done in public meeting and And we can't choose carpet without talking about it publicly, but janice supplied more detail And said to me cathy I have to monitor The commissioner's restroom stops To make sure that there's not three of them in the bathroom Violating the open meeting law And I said good luck with that You But janice for me here and that's the critical piece because I'm saying goodbye to you as a number one employee And I think we think the number the first employee to retire from the commission We think we believe that to be the case in any case lots of number ones all around like eileen um I came on at a time when things were quite complicated And I had the benefit Of you having your judgment In your insight in your care To work with me to be however successful I could be at that time When it was complicated And I was so lucky to know I could rely on that and that was um a gift and I was And you know it all three of the Former commissioners had told me that I would have that but I already knew that you being there would make all the difference to me You do have those smarts that have you know eyes on the back of your head That make us all really Really acutely aware But it's not just Sensitive issues. It's you know all those issues of of being a good colleague and being Being there for each other And you've been all of that for me in the short time. So on a personal note, I'm going to miss you very very much But on a professional note and judge mckew you you um and I shared the same sentiment You're a very very good friend and you've been a great friend to um to steve I think he she might have been the reason for your success throughout your career sounds like I mean just saying But um You know your as we said you're personally so good to everyone But you have really served the commonwealth and the public and for that we are eternally grateful So thank you and I wish you well in your retirement And if you happen to do a little bit more public service, we'll welcome it but um Try to get on that sailboat with that husband of yours and uh and enjoy And we know that we will see you As a friend and in whatever form you you want to continue serving the public Good luck so We are still in our official meeting I'm gonna oh, I I'm gonna allow janice to speak I just wanted to let everybody know we are still in our official meeting We will be concluding after janice's remarks for lunch I wanted to um just this is a logistic note that janice would no janice would janice would tell me that um And uh after janice's remarks It will be um We'll be returning a little bit later than our our plan probably closer to 140 45 to 2 um for our um second half of our meeting and now Before janice makes her remarks Could you come up janice to this awkward place, please? You want me here, right? and um The the mic is on and and that's Elaine Driscoll So um, this is actually as much of a presentation from the commission. It's really a presentation too from your colleagues I'll read it into the microphone um Janice Riley It's on the 19th day of december 2019 the massachusetts gaming commission proudly presents to you this distinguished service award In grateful appreciation of her distinguished service to the massachusetts gaming commission and the commonwealth of massachusetts Janice's efforts as chief administrative officer Have been instrumental in the commission's ability to successfully build a new public agency While simultaneously implementing a new and complex expanded gaming law The commission thanks her for all she has done for commissioners Mgc staff and mgc's many stakeholders Upon her retirement from the commonwealth the mgc extends its heartfelt gratitude for her measurable an immeasurable contribution consummate professionalism An admirable dedication to public service Her rightful place all along. Oh, no. Oh, no as we all know you know where I like to sit at the back of the room um again I am humbled by all of your words When steve called to say do you have one more in you? I had no idea what it was going to involve. Thank god because I probably would not have said yes um, but It has been a privilege and honor and a pleasure to work with all of my colleagues who are here um We've been We've come a long way since 2012 when we started this journey at 84 state street um, and i'm very proud of all we've accomplished and Uh walk away Kind of bittersweet about it, but happy and proud of all we've done and I couldn't have done it without all of you I Was so fortunate when we first started to get five commissioners who did not know one another at all but who were willing to just roll up their sleeves and dig in and None of us really do anything about the industry, but uh, we all kind of learned together and um It's been the journey of a lifetime. I can say that honestly and again proud of all that we've accomplished and It's grateful for the colleagues and people that I've worked with over the years It none of it again. I said this the other day would have been possible without all of your efforts. Um, You've been Incredible anytime. I asked for help or needed to have Assistance with anything there were many many hands that were put out to help me and I will be grateful for that forever um I'm not going to say goodbye. I'm going to say see you soon and thank you all and thank you all To all the commissioners all the commissioners Thank you and we'll convene um at we'll convene at 145. Thank you We're reconvening commission meeting number 284 And we are now turning to happily item number eight And happily because we have a wonderful group of guests here today Mars great. Good afternoon commissioners and chair um I'm going to just go down the line and and um introduce the the guests in our first row and then Teresa will come up for part two and she will introduce our guests and the in the second row So I um, I'm joined by marlene warner executive director of the mass counseling compulsive gambling Uh ray fluidt who is um the senior game sense advisor at on core boston harbour josh well new Right who is a gsa game sense advisor at on core boston harbour and and david tang Who is also a game sense advisor at on core boston harbour Um Welcome, so uh, Teresa did a very good job of scripting this presentation and she's given me two minutes To uh to talk You're already a minute in no it starts right now commissioner mark the clock is on I can say a lot about game sense, but um There are a few points that I think I really want to to make um, this commission introduced game sense four years ago um as The time I considered a solution for a piece of the statute that called for an onsite space What we have created since that time is a a program that means something that It provides information to patrons at Probably one of the most important times where they could be making these decisions provides them with information so they can make an informed choice about their gambling decisions We are growing a body of evidence that supports the idea that the patrons at our massachusetts casinos Our patrons at our massachusetts casinos Are are taking in information and using that information and it's informing their their play Um, and it's informing their their their play to keep their gambling safe Our game sense advisors are providing information to persons who are also considered at risk where their gambling behavior is risky or They're experiencing A degree of harm as a result of their gambling and they're they are there at that pivotal time of Of their life and providing them with information and resources to to get help That's much more than just a solution to to something that's that that is something that that means something We won't stop doing that core function, but We have an incredibly talented team That is dedicated to improving this service as well. How can we do a better job of providing that information? At that point in time so that the the patrons can can Can stay in a zone of playing safe? This is this is something that's moving from where 10 years ago The solution for responsible gaming was making sure that brochures were available To one where we're talking about different segments of players We're talking about providing information to different players based upon their needs and their their level of play We're moving from something that that was a brochure to something that is science And that is is incredibly important work. Um, and the individuals that are here today Um, represent some of the best of that work. It's two minutes. So, um I'm excited to turn it over to marlene warner who um from day one of developing the game sense program Has contributed to developing this this program Good afternoon commissioners I am really pleased to be here and to talk a little bit about What has been happening over the last six months? Obviously a very large piece happened, which is we opened a new game sense information center Well a new casino within a new casino opening and that was obviously at court boston harbour This is our largest team Across the three properties. We currently have 10 staff members there We opened with 12 and one of the things we talked to you about When we came just just two weeks ago four weeks ago whenever we were here was about being adept and Changing with what we saw was happening And one of the things we realized is that we didn't need some of our part-time staff and we're going to Ray will talk a little bit more about kind of the day-to-day operations at Alcora boston harbour, but i'm so pleased that we have some of the folks here So let me talk to you a little bit about how we developed that team. We've learned a lot When we opened that playing rich park because you know We not unlike probably everyone and Lisa can probably speak to this We're kind of just figuring it out as we were going I think someone alluded to earlier this morning, you know, kind of Trying to figure things out as the ship was moving. We were doing the same thing And so we've learned tremendously about what our staff need what they need in terms of Infrastructure what they need in terms of things as simple as our Way we are addressed today. This is the official uniform of on court boston harbour and Game sense center and And really how we best train them and support them in that initial orientation, but also in that ongoing Lead into a casino opening So there are four weeks of training and that's often shocking to people to know that we spend that much time But we think it's vital The the staff have been recruited Almost exclusively from the casino industry So we have staff and you'll hear a little bit about some of the background of some of the folks we have here today But from our regional casinos both here in Massachusetts and in Connecticut and Rhode Island and they come with Again, you heard me say this a few weeks ago come with an immense amount of Skill when it comes to assessing what's going on around them being able to connect with all kinds of patrons Knowing games inside and out, but they all come with The understanding of how to lead someone to gamble and not necessarily how to explain the games how to Engage someone in a conversation about odds that would then lead someone to Reflect on their own gambling behavior And so that is something that really needed to be taught and needed to be practiced So we spent four weeks with our team most of which was actually at the Envision Hotel in Everett and That was an opportunity for them to learn things like motivational interviewing How do you spend time with someone and start to lead them towards a conversation about Again, reflecting on their own behavior and making making a decision to change A problematic behavior for them. We led them through conversations around You know, we may have somebody who's in Someone who's an expert in slots, but doesn't know much about roulette Making sure they know those games inside and out and some of that is is teaching across The individuals we have a lot of experts and a lot of things, but also bringing in a lot of information I think one of the things that was really key and mark touched on this is making sure they understand what the data That has been collected. And so this is kind of a perfect segue from the earlier presentation from Dr. Volberg and her team is what do we know already and how can we apply that to the work of game sense? And so that has been one of the things that we've learned, right? What do we know about players in massachusetts their their behaviors? What do we know about average spend? What do we know about their casino play versus their lottery play? All those things have been Expressed to the game sense advisors and kind of broken down so we can figure out What does this mean about the day-to-day interactions? Again, those are things that are happening in those four weeks In addition, a lot of time was spent on making sure that they know how To have a positive experience with every person they encounter no matter what that person presents with so that could look like someone who's Concerned and troubled when they come into a voluntary self-exclusion program that could look like as somebody who is Engaging as a family member in the casino that could look like, uh, you know, we've spent a lot of time also training them to Be able to go out and do trainings and engagement community engagement and outreach Out in the hosting surrounding communities to the casino So the encore team I think benefited and we actually brought some of our team members from some of the other game sense information centers in Because I think we've finally gotten it right. I think we know the sweet spot in terms of Where they need to spend the most time and where they need the most practice And then what are some of those booster shots that we need to continue to provide? Moving forward and we continue to do that and hone in on that As I said, we have our team from across the gaming industry and yet they I often think they all could go back and have a second career as clinicians They are really sympathetic. They are open to hearing different approaches and practice them So I'm going to turn it over to ray who can really give you a better sense as to what did the encore opening look like But now you know a little bit about the background of our team members My focus really when we first started opening encore and going there was The team members that encore has the staff that they have there to try to make sure that they are really Intuned with the game sense program because as you can see from my bio, my history is from table games And in the many many years that I've been in the industry I didn't never heard anything about respond for the Never went through any kind of training for it We just really Thought that the casino didn't care You know, that's the way it was and it's it's Probably still like that in plenty places other than massachusetts here But uh Yeah, we So when I went there, I didn't want These casinos that the the casino workers that they're hiring to still have that Feeling that they can't talk to her guests. They can't say it's time to take a break They can't say well, you know what there is a voluntary self-exclusion program so between training these guys at the same time we were trying to engage with the uh New hires that encore is bringing in so we were part of their orientation process and For the first three weeks prior to opening Lynn Ho my senior gamesense advisor and myself were able to Engage with 3,500 of their employees And with that we go through the training and i'm hearing from these employees how It's okay I'm not going to get in trouble if I tell somebody that you know what you might need to take a break today You know, it's okay that um, I could send them over to the gamesense center You know, there is a voluntary self-exclusion program I know where the center is located and uh, it was really good to hear that from them because Your your employees are people too. They're not machines. They're not a slot machine. They have the feelings I mean, I could tell you many stories from my own personal experience Of how I felt my hands were tied With a person that is really you can tell they're destroyed and they're spending their last time here and Neglecting family and to come To a program like this is really I mean full turnaround for me And I wanted to share that with the staff And another reason why I really wanted to do it is because Encore is going to have hundreds of thousands of guests coming in there And I have a staff of 10 How do I engage with these guests? You know, how can I make it work where I can Uh get my staff of 10 To get out there and try to be the front line And it sometimes doesn't work that way you get the employees to be the front line You know, they are the ones the dealer is hearing the story from the player They're here the slot attendant is seeing the same person every day and they're they're building the relationships with these people and Then they're Getting us in tune to it and knowing that you know what you might want to come over and talk to this person You know, so it's really really a good thing Since opening um, it became more difficult with the trainings to um Engage with the people that have already started prior to us getting involved And so we went from four trainings a month to over 20 A month and and those because they're working in a 24 hour industry Our trainings had to range from like seven in the morning to midnight You know, so um, I had to call upon my staff that just got hired to you know what I need help You know, so these guys really stepped up our training that we did as malin Told you earlier the four weeks. We also went into how to do presentations And then on court really did a real special thing where they um held a train the trainer class strictly for game sets And um, I jumped at that opportunity. Yes. You want to do that? You know, we're all over it and I was able to even bite um games and devices from the other properties from mgm and ppc to come and actually go through the training And it it helped them immensely. So now when they're getting in front of 50 to 100 people at a time and Talking about the program something they're very passionate about They can feel comfortable talking to all these people And on a daily basis we get um, I would say we did 110 voluntary self-exclusion so far since the casino has opened and about half of them stemmed from a poor employee setting the person on us Whether it's a security guard escorting them over to the center Or a slot attendant or a dealer suggesting the program Or even um red card, you know on a daily basis red card sends people over to us that are just signing up for um a new card And they're saying you know what once you go over and see the game sense center, you know, they really Have something special. They could program to show you and they can also um, Give you something you're not going to walk away empty handed You know not everybody gets those game sense socks. You know that we have but yeah, it's uh it's a really good thing and um And every small interaction with a person whether it's just Giving them a little piece of swag or something all of a sudden they say what is game sense? And that's where we're able to go into our pulse field and we don't lead them with um Your we're about responsible gambling. That's not our first focus Uh, we we say you know what? We're all about keeping gambling fun You know and that's what we're at, you know And if I use the word responsible gambling problem gambling anything like that a lot of times They're going to put the hand up and walk away, you know, they don't want to hear it It's not for me, but if we're talking about we're keeping gambling fun You know and exciting and using your entertainment budget and I can go further into it and uh We'll actually talk about the games in the house edge With you, you know We can tell you where the house edge is built into every gate and show you how a slot machine works And how random it is and and what you've just done on this particular spin on a roulette wheel Doesn't necessarily mean that's going to change what happened in the next spin And then explaining this stuff to people and their eyes just open up You know, so it all starts off with a little high. How you doing and it works into a full A sense presentation And we can do this in just a few minutes too So it's very exciting On core it's great property to work in. I'm very happy. It's I've worked at all three of them You know I hope this is the last one. It's like I I can't continue to can move But uh, I mean it is fun and I um, I have a great staff that uh, it's really really engaged in the program One like mommy Molly said our focus was to pick up people with gaming knowledge and gaming background But really it's to me was about customer service You know, how to be able to talk to people and And let them feel that you know what you're not trying to sell them something But you're really servicing them and making them feel good about themselves and you can spread our message in that way So I did bring a couple of shining stars with me here today You know, I have David Tang and Josh Malinu and uh, they're here to talk about themselves. So Go ahead Josh Good afternoon. Good afternoon When I first heard about game sense It was actually during my orientation to be an assistant food court manager at plain rich park casino And when I heard about it, I thought this is a cool idea But how could you actually incorporate this like how could I actually use this in my daily life? So while I was working there I'd have Regulars coming up every day that I would always have a good time talking to and it was nice to see them But in the back of my mind, I was always kind of sad because that generally means So you're at this casino for hours every day and you're telling me about how you're losing money And I wasn't really in a comfortable enough space to feel like I could talk to them about it and then I heard that game sense was hiring and I actually started to talk to ray and ronnie Who works at plain rich more to hear more about the mission and exactly what game sense does and so I applied Got the job and then I started working at encore boston harbour Which I found very interesting because ironically when I was there I started talking to other employees at the casino and they would all go I mean, what do you guys do just ban people just help you have gambling problems? And I went okay, I can understand because that's exactly what I thought So it's been very interesting to watch how this program has grown with knowledge Of the different members that work at the casino because there was one instance for example where someone came to the casino After five years, they'd stopped gambling that almost lost their home They had to borrow money from their grandmother just to keep going and staying stable in life And they wanted to just celebrate and check out the casino because it just opened. They thought it'd be cool I got a call from security, which I never imagined would happen because they were always scoffing at the idea saying Can you come over to this location and speak to this person? It sounds like They need to talk about their gambling habits So I brought her over to the game center and as we were talking we were just talking about The different things that happened with her what she had lost what she was afraid of losing and how She had rebuilt her life after these five years and was scared that she's going to throw it all away So as the conversation goes on she continues to reveal that She was that day supposed to go to ga to give a speech about not gambling for five years And how it had saved her life and made it so much better And showed how much appreciation she had for game sense for being there to help her exclude herself So she wouldn't have to go through that process again And it made me think back to when I originally started at plain ridge about kind of scoffing at the idea And realized how cool it was that this was really a multi-level sort of deal Instead of being a place that people go to Just when they have a gambling issue or they have to continue going It was a place that you can go when you start going to casinos And we could teach you how to avoid that and how to understand how the games work If you felt like you were getting to a level where it was getting out of your control We could help you exclude yourself And we could help you make sure you don't get into that area And then for the people who actually had gone through the issues before And realized that the patterns about to repeat we could help them as well So it really Came home to me how great of a program it is because of just the multi-level layer Which we can help people overcome these different issues and almost as a preventative measure before it even starts And it's also just fun because you go to the casino now and all the people that originally kind of laughed at the idea You're joking around with talking about how great of a program this is and all the different Different actions they've seen and shown why game sense is so important So that's been my experience so far. So I think this is an excellent program. It's my favorite job I've ever had and love to keep this All thing going Thank you Good afternoon commissioners Thank you, Josh. It's gonna be tough to follow it up All right, um Maybe able to move it like this to help you better Do not pull the microphone towards you We don't have that No, but ours says that's something else which I occasionally remember to read you're better Sorry So my first uh, my first experience with gambling was my um Well, both my parents have had issues with problem gambling in the past and My first encounter with gambling or with the casino industry was Probably at the age of 13, right? And my mom had been a casino table games dealer for quite a while So I've seen both the good and the bad sides of the casino industry and the gaming industry um I know she continued to have an ongoing problem and you know When I heard about game sense, I had been working at mgm springfield and it just it seemed like a call to action for me Because you know, they're there's no such program in Connecticut Right, um, at best they have a 1 800 number. Maybe Maybe a little card. I don't think it's even a brochure that says if you need help call this number Right, um, it's also Game sense is unique in that it's neutral on gambling. It's not adversarial in that way I feel like a lot of gamblers are afraid to reach out because they're afraid to be judged on the morals To be judged on a lack of willpower, you know, um to be just judged as a person So they shy away from any anti gambling programs or strategies So the fact that game sense is more about understanding compassion more about education more about health and prevention You know, I think that makes such a huge difference um Just recently we had a lady who was a local a patron that was coming to the casino basically every week Um multiple times a week She was from the next town over in shelsey and she had gotten to know every single game sense advisor at the encore property by name Right, um, and so she obviously enjoyed gambling. She enjoyed talking to the game sense advisors And she started encountering a little bit of a problem with her gambling habits Where she was spending more money than she was comfortable with she had to cut back on her food budget You know, it's um, it's a relatively common story But this story had a happy ending because after going through this for weeks on end Finally it just clicked, you know, somebody said something to her and All the pieces of the puzzle fit together and she understood inside that I have to leave at some point You know, it's all well and good that I'm having fun But I have to set a budget I have to set a time limit for myself and she completely transitioned into Healthier gambling habits into more sustainable gambling habits So she didn't stop all together and part of the research shows and you know I'm so grateful that we have all this training to help us understand this because I personally learned a lot Even though I've been around gambling and gaming since h-13. I learned a lot when I joined game sense That a lot of problem gamblers don't stop gambling All right, they continue gambling throughout their lifetime, but sometimes they transition to A more sustainable healthier version where they're not spending their you know daily no bread food water rents all that stuff and They're not spending their entire paychecks every single time they engage in any of these activities So she came over to us. She was telling us how happy she was You know and that she was leaving Exactly even It can be a challenge sometimes, right? um But hearing that seeing that happen live You know, it gives me a lot of hope for the gaming industry because I I know that Over time there's only going to be more and more casinos opening up. There's going to be more States more areas that are going to be legalized in gambling So unless we find a healthy way to incorporate into society it can do a lot of harm right, so Another case and point is that we work really really well with a lot of the employees at encore Right when they first started they weren't really sure what game sense was about but now we're having day-to-day conversations with Some security officers because you know some from allowed to gamble and they talk to us about their gambling habits And some of them about their gambling problems, right? So the fact that they feel comfortable enough to have that conversation I think speaks volumes It's tremendous, you know where in the past it might have been taboo It's not something you want to openly admit and people feel a lot of Shame and embarrassment over now it's seen as the responsible thing to do Right, at least that's the culture we're trying to foster so you know, I'm I'm really I'm really happy to be part of the game sense team and uh For every little bit that I can contribute I'm really excited to see what this program is going to go in the future That's great I have just one one other anecdotal story that these guys have dozens, but um two weeks ago I got a call on the voluntary self exclusion line from uh Man at encore boston harvard um Originally went to voicemail. I called him back about an hour later Um, and I could hear the slot machines in the background He said, you know, I'm 75 and I'm Worried that I'm Going to lose lose all my money He was inquiring about what to do. I talked to him for a little bit I tried to describe where the game sense information center was I said you can talk to a staff You know, I I tried to encourage him to to make his way over there Um, I hung up. I wasn't convinced that he was going to try to he was going to figure that out. So I called Um called Julie Heinz who's the director of of responsible gaming explained. I said, could you just pass along? Look out for this guy if he comes to the game sense information center Um He reached out to me and it would be great if you could get some help um You know, so I got I spoke to Julie last week And I found out that ray had actually gone out onto the gaming floor walked the floor and found this person And brought him back to the game sense information center that There was a lot of concern about this is a huge gaming floor Game sense is just kind of a drop in the bucket. How are we going to be effective at doing this? but the idea that we have you know, thank you so much ray for for Taking the steps to go out there and actually look around find this person and really make that difference It was it's just a great story of of the great work that they do to go that extra mile And was that in part because of the referral the general characteristics a 75 year old? Yeah, yeah, or something like that Yeah, yeah, I'm sure there's several out there, but you know, I think I mean I would venture to say ray kind of knows what to look for right He knows he knows not only age but signs of distress and um And and he went out and found it Really that that was it he He wasn't gambling when I uh when I saw him, you know, I walking around and He did say 75 years old and I mean we're not playing rich pock here so That we we do have a younger demographic There so it was kind of easy to walk around and and Pick him out of a crowd He was walking around he had old papers. He had everything in front of him about our program You know, uh, and it did make it very easy for me to find him but he's very happy to do it and he He actually found out about our program and everything from uh playing rich pock After talking to him he he frequent there often and he got to know tarrant So one of our game sense advisors there very well and he told me to tell tarrant's that he finally did it You know Great story Me you yeah, you go ahead. I okay I should have cameron first of all. I love the uniforms. You all look so professional and sharp. I really do they look right So I know you haven't always felt that way about the uniforms. Well, I know that I know that this is a different uniform And it really looks it looks terrific. It really does a couple things. I heard that I think are so impressive first is um 50 percent of the referrals are from Um on core boston harbour employees. That's amazing and that's to your point that it wasn't always that way Right, so I think that's terrific and we have leases sitting with the team So, I mean, I think it's a partnership, right? um, you wouldn't be as successful without um The licenses embracing the concept and You know working with us to make it successful So I I just love hearing those stories and um your your personalities are Uh engaging infectious. I can see why you're all so successful. I think we're so lucky to have all of you Marlene great job recruiting really impressive team um So I really appreciate you coming and spending the time with us just to explain and to Talk about the work you're doing and how important it is and it really is important. So And right, I'm sorry. That wasn't that easy to do go and the size of that casino to go find one gentleman. Wow, that was That means you you care really that's what it tells me and um, I'm sure you made a difference in In his life. So thank you Thank you. Thank you for um for those updates. We have had a number of as part of the procurement uh, you know in their response of as council Had, uh, you know very well articulated Principles that now the game sense advisors begin to articulate in real life anecdotes and experience, which is really Really good. That's that's the crux of what you're all trying to do there Um, you know, we have fancier words But the the you know, like step care approach trying to talk to different People and try to meet them where they are, but you clearly know how to Engage that way and and and do it effectively The talk down of responsible gaming Instead the focus on positive play is something that is beginning to really be implemented as I hear you talk about How you're engaging with people, which is critical It's really in my opinion one of the cornerstones of the success of this of this program And um, and I did want to mention something about the prior evaluation something that I think that we are gearing towards towards doing In the first evaluation that we did on this program, which I now looking back would appear to be a little earlier than Ideal, maybe we did a little too soon. There was a real, uh, um Principle at the time to try to you know, do it We're doing a pilot program and it's something new and let's try to evaluate it But as as we now look forward to the next evaluation um One of the things that came from that first evaluation was that intuitively the number of interactions Seemed to to to be a metric Which I believe still is a metric. It's not the only metric. Uh, I believe the quality of interactions Um and the timing like the ones you you say at critical times Um are really key You need many interactions. You need many. Hello's and good mornings and and so on to be able to reach Those critical times and that's something that I that I look forward how we Try to begin to measure and quantify those, uh, those critical both quality And and and the critical timing of of certain interactions And um, I I should also, uh, uh, mention Uh, something that I think, uh, you put really well ray, which is Uh, how we leverage those interactions when you talk about how you are Um Through the dealers that you also know that you also interact quite a bit with other employees At at, uh, in the hospitality piece parts of the casino Um Because you know them because they're former colleagues or because they have they're doing work that you've done before This notion of ultimate referrals is something that's a theme in the program that I think we really need to look forward to Internal referrals just like the one you described. Well, uh, mark, which is a very powerful anecdote by the way But between employees and games and advisors Uh, but then also to external resources, which is also a big part of what what I think the program is needs to accomplish How we make warm handoffs Um to existing resources outside of the of the of the casino There's critical resources there including the voluntary self-exclusion piece um But, uh, I think it's it's really the the the future of the program Uh, and it's something that I know you have put a lot of thought in I it comes, um Full circle, as I've heard you say in your response to the rfp That a big focus was going to to be your interactions with employees. That's what you really wanted to increase As a real measurable goal Um, I think it's something that's that's exciting About the program that that is a focus And it's very good to hear and uh, you know in in your own words What you're confronting on the front lines, uh, which are all those concepts that I that I speak about Hey, and we just did you want to I'm sorry. She wanted maybe she wanted to respond a little Yeah, I just want to say thank you for that. I um, I think one of the things that we failed to talk about was How important it has been for us to Really look at through our senior gsa's in the staff at um the physical environment and and what what are the Where are the best places for us to have interactions? Where are the best places for us to talk with employees? How do we set ourselves up? You know these folks were talking, uh, I think was just last week about oh, you know, maybe we should be Focused on making sure we always have it You know staff changeovers being in back of the house always having someone kind of Strategically stationed there. I think these are the things that we're trying to figure out is not just The number of interactions But where are the best interactions happening? And what are the conversation pieces that are happening there and what do we need to equip ourselves with Is it best for us to be standing in that strategic place with an ipad with a brochure with swag? What is going to make for and I think those are the things we're really honing in on right now And so it's that's to me is that game since 2.0 next level and I will say that it's It's been invaluable to have The senior gsa is working together Julie Hines our director of responsible families did a nice job of really building that senior team up So that they are really exchanging ideas and thoughts across those properties. So while there's a lot of consistency We also are making sure we're Capturing what's unique about each property and each game sense information center and really going with what works In those places and you're going to hear a little bit more about that when we talk about Responsibly gambling education week Which happened in early august, but I think that That You know the when the RFR was put out that you know that there was a question about whether it made sense to have One program run one Center versus another program running another center We have found that it's been invaluable for us to have that consistency In branding and programming, but to Also think about how do we do something very specific for the for the patrons for the staff for where we are We're located in three really different spots in the three casinos, right? We have signage in really different ways in the three casinos our staff are really good at trying to Maneuver around those different environments and figuring out how how to make that work best And I should mention something else that the review committee talked about when we talked about Number of interactions versus equality There's clear. There's a clear recognition that we do not want to simply drive interactions Because that's one measure Um, you need to be able to ascertain who is ready to have any kind of interaction You don't want to turn people off. Otherwise At least it could directly back backfire And if if you perceive to be pushy just to get interactions Um, and that's the whole side of you know, um Looking at the quality But also, you know the benefit of having All of you guys mostly come from the hospitality and gaming industry where you both know You know the players the psyche the designs and and and so Thank you Yeah, I would just I want to go back to a point mark made When you think about what the statute originally said I think a lot of us said I had personally two kind of perceptions in mind that An operation like intended by the legislature was going to be back of house It was going to be some place you went and picked up a phone And maybe somebody came came out and met you and we weren't even sure how it would work to have something actually on the gaming floor um But as you guys you know mark marlene and terry says you rolled this out in our in our team at game sense The fact that you took something that could be public facing Right next to the gaming floor And to an extension of that. It's not only outward facing facility. It's the outward facing people I mean the fact that you're You know, it's not just stand behind the counter and hope somebody comes to you. It's going out It's finding the the gentleman on the floor who might be in distress. It's kind of Developing these relationships that you see with frequent customers. I mean that's that's really what has made That's really what has made the program start or work and be successful And the fact that you're not also willing to go off site and do some things and You know marlene you and I have talked about this as you're rolling out some new engagement strategies What's the additional awareness you can bring to game sense in our hosting surrounding communities?  I didn't know how to kind of conceptualize it in my head and And I think in the end it's it was it was broad and that really worked to our advantage and I have to believe that it was probably Made broad like that so that we could kind of grow into it the way that that we have so Yeah, it's uh It was good a groundbreaking To require on site services Yeah, I have do you have a question? I have a first up a comment Tremendous to have you Josh and David here Ray we we're we're more familiar with you and but of course happy to have you here as well But how how lucky we are to have the two of you here providing Really good information for us and then Doing the service and work that you do and it it is an important profession that you're engaging in so thank you Um, I have a couple questions. I know that your team Overall our multi language skills And do either of you speak another language? maybe So, uh, it's a bit embarrassing to say right now. I can only speak English fluently, but I I grew up speaking Mandarin Chinese and uh, I also grew up outside of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. I used to speak Dutch as well It's my goal in 2020 to polish up on my Mandarin at least And make that skill going forward And and you Josh Your English is excellent. Yes. I'm quite good at English, but That's my specialty It's it's I mean, let's all say that it's excellent I do not speak any other languages at the moment, but I'd love to learn another so I just wondered if you encountered that as a That there's sufficient resources for you in terms of encountering Uh, people on the casino floor Let me take Well, when do you if you encounter language? Um barriers, how do you address them? Well, we do we're on our staff. We have a lot of different languages spoken. Um, I just had a Vsc that was done for a um, Chinese speaking person and speaks Cantonese And I have uh, chris wong on my staff who is fluent in Cantonese and uh, he happens to be who's on vacation At the time and I had to make a phone call to him to help me communicate You know, um, and it worked out very well Um, we also have the resources with the casino Where this gentleman before we figured out what was going on what they were looking for We actually had to go through a casino host So I we know how to find somebody that speaks the language So we were in the Asian marketing and they helped us out Um, I also have a agado who um speaks fluent Spanish So I mean we do get a lot of several languages on my team And we're able to communicate a agado helped me immensely with a Spanish speaking person that his mom Was forcing him to try to exclude and we're trying to tell her that I mean we don't do third party You can't make him do it and stuff and agado was able to help me Communicate with them. We were on a three-party conference call to do that You know and it worked great Um, but like yes, like I said in the casino industry, there are a number of languages spoken there. It's very diverse and The staff themselves actually can help us So I mean we've got great relationships with the managers and we can call them and see if Somebody can help us in a language that we don't Speak amongst my team So what I'm hearing is it's not you haven't encountered Barriers yet, which is not not yeah, not that we've seen we haven't seen a barrier.  Um, and but as Especially lisa and daniel come up compliant the managers at plane rich park and mgm That that our relationship with our operators is is instrumental in the success of the program. Um, and We really couldn't do it without them Good afternoon commissioners. Good afternoon afternoon Tough app to follow. Um We are going to be focusing a bit on our experience this year with responsible gaming education week But first I will introduce My team today. So to my right is charlie or dilly who is the senior gsa at plane rich park casino Daniel miller compliance mgm lisa mckinney compliance plane rich park casino and of course David tank who you just heard Uh, so this will be This will be our fourth year of participating in responsible gaming education week, which is a national advocacy week Advocacy and awareness week. Um It was actually held this year for the first time In september it ran from september 16th through 20th Um in the themes which we um gave it this year was have a game plan and watch your time with game Sons both of which are meant to encourage personal control and limit player transition From low risk to higher levels of um gambling related harm, which you heard a bit about that scale today So that's a nice segway Um, i'm going to jump around my page a little bit and talk about some of the outward facing awareness that we did in communication So in addition to our own um game sense me social media Um campaign plan rich park casino use their facebook to post a daily responsible gaming education message on core boston harbour displayed um Messages on their table game monitors when those table games weren't in use So it was really cool to see that throughout the floor and mgm Actually asked game sense to host a back of house tabling event Which through our metrics we reported reached 235 casino staff. So we were really happy with that extra bumping collaboration Um, we also engaged and paid digital advertising that week which led to an increase of game sense ma website visits Interestingly about half of those visitors were um 60 plus so a vulnerable population. So we were really happy to see that level of engagement In addition to the regular messages that we were putting out We also launched we're calling them game sense advisor sports cards They're meant to look like baseball cards and um, it introduces the game sense advisor by name Where they work and a bit about them. Um, so more to come From those but that was the first week which we launched some and you can see some examples on your screen and on the paper um And I thought it was something cool to include even though it wasn't launched specifically for responsible gaming education week We still had um, taxi top ads throughout the boston area Um, promote a responsible gaming and they were still in market during the week And you can see this is actually my favorite one If I can read it gambling with a budget is like wearing a seat belt And then it draws a reader to game sense and then to visit game sense ma dot com Of course the most important part of this week was the engagement had with um casino Staff and also guests um metrics and data collection is really really important to us. Um, and so These numbers highlight this week, but it's just a drop in the hat of all of the engagements that our advisors have So that week alone through some incredible Educational activities the game sense advisors across all three properties reached over 6,000 patrons And that would be considered an intensive interaction. So it's a two-way interaction Which focuses on responsible or problem gambling. So it speaks a bit in reggae to Sorry, commissioner zuniga. Um to the quality quality interactions Um Here to highlight one of our newest, um educational activities is david And I will say that this activity was created by amy gabrella who is senior gsa at mgm who unfortunately couldn't be here today But david will do a fantastic job in her place showing it off for you. So i'll turn it over to him All right. Thank you very much. Teresa So it's to my understanding that uh, the commissioners that you each have a piece of paper showing What's displayed on that easel over there, which is a basic overview of the game, which is meant to be a slot simulator We have on Can should we move that or So that no, they have it. Well, they have it. They have it. Yes. Got it Thank you so on One of the panels we have slot machine simulators rules how to play the technology behind it You know, the basic premise of the game is to simulate a simple slot machine so that players can get a better understanding of Gesundheit of hit chance the probabilities and um, even a little bit about payback percentage, right so Quite simply put we have three 60 sided dice. All right, don't ask me where we got them. Amy found them All right So they're all different colors to make it easy to distinguish and for every number on the die It's associated with a symbol just like it would be on a slot machine Okay, so we'd have a patron roll a die and let's say the first die rolls It's a terrible roll Say the first one rolls and it comes out to be number 40, right? So we would turn to the second page. We would find The number 40 half the fun is trying to find where it is on the page We pump no, so it comes out as a wild Right. That's a while. Yeah. Yeah. Many slot machines have wild symbols Which can substitute for any other symbol if they get three wild symbols. They could pick any two prizes So in return for the participation this game in return for this little bit of education information We give them some free game sense swag, you know Uh, so patron doesn't gets to roll the next die and comes out as 28 And if you look at the dollar signs 28 is the symbol for tumbler right And then we'll roll another one And the last final die the final rule comes out as 48 And 48 unfortunately comes out as a bell. So that's not a winning combination In which case the patron has to roll again Uh, just to uh, just to make a long story short and to highlight how this translates into Uh educating guests With 360 sided dies There are over now there are 216,000 combinations exactly 216,000 All right with the wild symbols All right, uh, there are a little over 22,000 winning combinations And that those are realistic numbers for a slot machine All right, the only difference with the slot machines. They're working with a far larger pool But the hit probabilities hit chances this is almost the same Um, you know, most slot machines operate within the range of, you know 90 25 percent obviously does vary you know So we would have our patrons roll again and Let's just see how long it takes they roll again. They it's time to get a number four On the chart is a dollar sign. So that's a tumbler Next one 37 It comes out to be a wild All right, and the final one number five It's a cherry. So they might go like this back and forth a few times and we tell them, hey You know, can you imagine how much money you would have spent by now if this was an actual slot machine? You know, so after the third time if they don't get it Tell them. Hey, feel free to pick a prize. You know, thank you for your participation And if you ever have any other questions you want to learn more about slots Feel free to visit game sets So any questions? David are there um some slot machines with 60 potential just like the dice That you have 60 potential in in each of the three reels or are there more or more reels so My understanding is that every slot machine is a little different and that each reel operates on a random number generator The range for the random number generator Is set by the company that creates these games But my understanding is that range is far larger and that the total number of combinations Total possible combinations goes into the millions What's uh, what's your experience in um as you engage with slot players On a demonstration like this. Yes, what what are their comments in general? How do they react to you know Large numbers like you know, you have to multiply 60 times 59 58 or to get to whatever the number for mutations 16,000. Yeah. Yeah, uh, no, absolutely It's it's really interesting because you get to see people from various different backgrounds.  Haven't hit haven't hit haven't hit right, but it's a different environment where they aren't risking any money I think that Most people when they come They approach our center and they approach a game like this They're coming usually with an open mindset You know, they have no idea what to expect You know, some of them come ready to pay money in order to play this game and we tell them We tell them hey, no, it's free, you know, it's just for education How did they um grasp the concept that every spin is independent of One another which is a common misconception on slot players that You know what that is probably one of the most pervasive myths surrounding, uh, the casino industry surrounded casino environment and A lot of people that we talk to, um, you know, whether we're doing this game or not Whenever we're talking about slots one of the things that we bring up and it a lot of times sparks that aha moment where people understand Oh, you know, it doesn't matter how long I've been playing It doesn't matter if I play on the same machine or a different machine You know, it doesn't matter how much money I've already put into it And you know, I think that's one of the best ways to spelling myths like that that we can encourage responsible and healthy play Thank you, david um one thing which I would just like to add which really strikes me as david was going through this activity Is the speed in which you can play an actual slot machine now It took us a really long time to go through just three roles. Um We had to do all the thinking and processing now. It's you know, but you can go really fast with it. So thank you Um, representing clean rich park casino. I'm going to pass it over to charlie Afternoon commissioners good afternoon charlie. Um charlie or dilliams see your game sense advisor clean rich park Um, we'll talk a little bit about rge w success it was at clean rich park Lisa allowed us to have an outstanding location when you get off the garage elevator right in front of security booth First thing you see was our game sense information table We had signage, you know, keep gaming fun Take a break with game sense We did our demos at the table. We also had the game sense brochures out for everybody the bse to play my way the Where to get support anything that the guests would need we had a raffle basket out there for the for the week Which we got seven hundred and seventy five raffle entries for that five days Again with uh playing rich park, uh, they gave us 500 co-co branded watches that we gave out to the first hundred guests that came to the Uh the demo table, um, which was Very popular. They were waiting for us to open. Where are they? Um, it was it was Advertised on the uh digital it was advertised in the monthly planner. Um, it was awesome that the cooperation that uh We got from the plain rich park was great. Um, we also had uh Play at small at plain rich park buttons that we gave to all the ppc team members my team and any guests that wanted them so, um, but we did uh We kept it fun. We didn't preach to uh, uh, the guests about problem-gaming responsible gambler But we did was we did fifteen hundred and sixty demos For that week for those five days and come out to about 780 guests that we interacted with Nietzsche's interactions were Probably three to five minutes um I'm very popular the uh 60 sided dice game was one of them the game sense. Plinko was uh We did some quizzes the high-low game, but those games what it was is um Uh, we discussed randomness the rng the You know house advantage different things We also had gave out four pounds of Miniature kick cat bars take a break with kick cats. We had our game sense stickers on them and we gave them out to The guests that were playing their slot machines gave them employees It was a fun. It was a fun time But we also had uh game sense advisors including myself that were out there for the people that were That seen the demonstrations that but really wanted more wanted to talk to us about you know their gambling You know responsible game problem gambler really just wanted to talk And we had quite a few of those interactions as well um I know plan rich park also had a uh Table set up in the edr for their their employees that They had quizzes and different things But we like I said the employees they were involved. They had the kick cats They had the buttons and you know guests would ask what's going on over there And they would bring them to us for the demonstration to have that conversation. So It was a very successful week It was very good It's great impressive. Thank you. Thank you Okay, and so from compliance at um mjm springfield and of course from plainish park casino. I'll pass it over to daniel Thank you, d'arisa Good afternoon commissioners lady chair so I considered myself a bit of a latecomer to the party that's uh Responsible gaming education week because I've only been in my current position two weeks when it was due to start um And so that we could kind of almost pass by the time it had come to me About all the stories of my counterparts at other mgm properties Um, because you may or may not know that we've actually partnered with game sense across all of our domestic mgm properties Um that they were hosting similar events So I immediately got on the phone to Amy Gabrilla You know the creator of this game That david has just demonstrated for us and said is there a chance that you and I and maybe a couple of your other games Since advisors could do something the following week and she said of course and I said right Well, we're rebranded. It's going to be responsible gaming education week 2.0 And so the following week we set aside two four hour Sessions on the friday and the saturday We did set up a table in our um edr session our employee dining room And I was there with them and we played this game And the the main thing that I drew away from it that amazed me more than anything was One the enthusiasm of the employees for that the game itself and understanding it and two was the learning that was going on Because we touched so many different employees from different parts of of the property Those that are slot texts those that are Gaming oriented kind of had an idea But those that are working as our housekeepers custodial facilities didn't They got to feel like they were part of that fund too And because they're still out there on the floor I think now they're better on to just you know see or notice someone And maybe help out too. So but um what what I will be doing With our onsite game since going forward is setting up more frequent participation in responsible gaming events back at house Good afternoon commissioners lady chair Good afternoon um We are for our responsible gaming education week at playing range park casino um, we focused I focused internally on our employees And so um, we sent out daily communications through email And I'll let you know we did separate topics each day based on responsible gaming the first day we did Advertise Penn national daily commitment to responsible gaming and responsible gaming programs and day two We um had the topic of three types of gamblers recreational problem and compulsive Day three topic was underage persons and unattended minors Day four topic was responsible alcohol service and day five was self-exclusion voluntary self-exclusion So we had um posters on a back of house communication board where everybody could see it We had a responsible gaming board um for the week So the posters advertised the topics for each day All the topics were pre-shifted on every shift each day and employees As I believe charlie mentioned we did daily quizzes based off of these topics each day we pulled um the Team members who answered correctly were entered into drawing then we um issued Three winners per day received twenty five dollar gift cards to dunk and donuts And then in addition to all the communication throughout the week we launched our required annual Responsible gaming training for our team members And for those who successfully successfully completed their training during the week Were entered into a drawing to win gift cards So um, we had a lot of participation from our um team members And the week went off pretty well actually and it was this was a good responsible gaming education week for us this year Great well Thank you Yeah, thank you all really impressive work And I do like the partnerships Really that just makes it so much stronger Yeah, it makes it easier for us when we can split and have game sense focus on our guests And then we can focus internally and then our marketing team also had social media every day So our employees could see it as well as our guests So it was very nice to have that The other thing that worries me though is that they've kind of set the bar that much higher So next year I've got to try and exceed that so Healthy competition. Yeah, that's and that's why uh commissioner camera likes it. She likes that competition. It feeds And I think that um there that she was a recipient of one of my handwritten notes. Am I right? Teresa. Yeah, she was so It's a why don't you explain what the the quarterly game sense it's Game sense excellence. Yes, sure. So um on a quarterly basis, we have the game sense advisors Choose three casino staff members who exemplify or incorporate responsible gaming into their daily role In those individuals are typically identified in some sort of internal communication They're also presented with a handwritten thank you note from the chair As well as a small gift card just to show our appreciation because they really do Impact the work that we do on the floor And and what I love about that program is that It's the game sense advisors who recognize how important the partnership is and they look for the Positive attributes that they need for their success through you. So congratulations again in first thing Thank you Thank you all. Thank you. Have a holiday Thank you We're very excited to have you as part of our right before the holiday Meeting. So it's such positive news. Thanks So we're on um item number nine um, but since the emba and we've got Mary here, um We've got Joe Delaney and Joe Griffin And maybe Mary will join No, Mary's upstairs. I don't think she's joining us today. Okay, great. Thank you I know Josh, thanks again. Nobody noticed you Off to repeated Thank you very much chair commissioners up for consideration today Our two amendments to community mitigation fund awards that were made earlier this year I'm first going to turn to Joe Delaney For a very brief description of one minor amendment to the revere Non-transportation planning award and then after the commission considers that award amendment We will then turn to director griffin for a description of the requested amendment to an award to the massachusetts casino career Team institute. I think I missed that one word, but uh training. Thank you. My writing is not very Legible The commission approved a very similar amendment earlier this year So hopefully some of the concepts of this amendment are familiar, but let me turn it over briefly to Joe Okay, thank you commissioners In 2019 the city of revere received a $50,000 grant from the community mitigation fund And its purpose was to develop a video that would Promote the city of revere as a tourist destination And that also included money for promoting that getting it in the local hotels and other things of that nature Um as it turns out The city spent they were supposed to spend about 40,000 on the video 10,000 on promotion They spent about 35,000 on developing the video Apparently they had a number of festivals and fairs and other things where they were able to just get Footage that they could use for that rather than having to hire someone to go out and get it And um, so what they're hoping to do is take that 5,000 they save there and put it towards the promotion budget Apparently there's about 900 Hotel rooms in the development pipeline in revere that they would like to coordinate with Some of those are coming online a little bit sooner than they expected So, uh, we reviewed the application and it certainly seems Reasonable for this transfer and we recommend that that be done Any questions? No questions Uh Madam chair, I'd move the commission approved the request to modify the 2019 city of revere non transportation planning grant reduce the production cost of 35,000 dollars with a commensurate increase in the marketing and distribution budget To 15,000 dollars was discussed today second Any for the discussion Those in favor Five zero Thank you. Thank you. So without further delay. Let me turn to director griffin for the second item Good afternoon again In the commission's 2019 grant to holy oak community college 50,000 of that grant was dedicated to scholarships for the gaming school Holy oak community college Has requested an amendment For some of those funds for the mass casino careers training institute Which will allow them to cover the cost of gaming instructors and recruitment Coordinators for two courses that they plan to offer in january Day and evening course In the case that those two courses are low enrolled It would allow them to offer the courses If they have less than 10 employees We have spoken with both the grantee and our licensee MGM supports this amendment As the running of these classes will help to enhance their pool of qualified And Anything else? Yeah, I think that's it Do we have any questions I think at some point I I would love to revisit just this program. I understand the request is before us, but It's just so vital to the underlying goals for the workforce development. So We can turn to that issue I can add that part of our discussion with the licensee involves A meeting regarding recruitment Um, and um, we're all interested in making sure that this is a successful program And we can certainly update you following our discussion and and those meetings. I'd appreciate that. Thank you Solution so madam chair, I move the commission authorized staff to approve the request to reallocate $15,000 from the massachusetts casino career training Institute scholarship budget To cover the cost of giving instructors and recruitment Coordinators for two courses in january of 2020 allowing for more flexible enrollment second Any discussion questions? Although some paper Opposed Five zero. Thank you. Thank you commission. Thank you I'd like to make a small point. Maybe I've made it before I I I really appreciate these these updates. They don't take too much of the agenda and and and it's really good to keep tabs of how Serious the program is taken by not just you, but especially the people that we grant These grants to too But I would like us to think about Perhaps a the minimum's threshold Under which some of these requests might not need to come to us Could could could be approved at the staff level. I don't know what that threshold might be But it just it just feels sorry. It just feels like under some amount Especially if it's moving money between one item and another that's already been considered should really be done Perhaps more efficiently and timely By the staff and then come back and report to the commission when necessary So commissioner, that's a great suggestion. One thing I'll bring to the commission is in the 2020 guidelines We included a threshold which provided staff approval for items. We worked that out between Various commissioners had different thresholds. We matched them all together But we didn't get we didn't seek that vote for this current year, but we could do that for the Oh, no, no, that's great. We so we can bring that for maybe approval of the next meeting To allow us to do that for the remainder of this program here It's if we're addressing through the guidelines. I think that's I was thinking more in the longer term We're already doing it through the guidelines. I'm satisfied Thank you Thank you All right commissioners my my next item is an appointment earlier this year the commission voted to approve director van der linden Can you join me? To the subcommittee of addiction services under the gaming policy advisory committee We've been very working very hard to activate this subcommittee As you're aware commissioner zuniga and mark van der linden have been Very involved in the subject matter of this subcommittee commissioners zuniga Given his role in his historic work on on the subject matter mark and I both recommend that the commissioner appoint That the commission appoint commissioner zuniga As this appointee replacing mark Both mark and I would continue to staff this subcommittee And mark is going to give you a little bit of detail about what we're trying to do to get the remaining members Of the subcommittee up and running so that we can begin the the hard work of this of this subcommittee Hello again um So, uh, we are as as um budgeman zuniga said we are working hard to activate the subcommittee It's our goal to to have our first meeting as soon as possible We have made some progress and in determining the the individuals that will Sit on this important committee The As it states in The section 68 of 23 k The committee shall be five members one of whom shall be From the department of public health's bureau of substance abuse services for that role They have a appointed Deirdre calvert and just real quick a couple of notes about deirdre She's a licensed clinical social worker with an msw from boston university She has more than 25 years experience and substance addiction treatment and co-occurring illnesses. She's currently the Director of the bureau of substance abuse services. So she's she's quite call up qualified Another individual As stated in section 68 shall be from a representative from the mass council and compulsive gambling For that role marlene warner Is going to fill Marlene has been with the council since 2001 And as a executive director since 2011 Um She's during this entire tenure advocated for policies and provisions to keep gambling safe healthy and to provide services For those negatively impacted By gambling disorder She does she she builds connections to treatment facilities recovery Directed policies and uses evidence-based research to lobby for increased supports and funding For responsible and problem gambling research and programs Um There are two members who would be identified by the governor's office. Um, we are working with the governor's office to to Identify those those individuals As that is also a process and we're actively and willingly engaged in that Um, so as as uh hon buds manzimba said, um, I respectfully request that that we Change the commission appointment from myself to commissioner And perhaps I should mention, uh, you know, something you mentioned quickly, uh, john and that is, um There's a staffing that is required or needed as part of these These kinds of committees And and in that capacity mark and can be Perhaps a little bit more Focused on on on on that piece And this committee will report to gpac, correct john? That's a structure under the statute. Yes. It's one of the subcommittees the gpac It just has never been activated and at this point in time. It's really important for it to be activated in order to get more and more expertise to the To the stakeholders, so I think that this I would recommend this change. I think it's important for our overall makeup of this of this, um, committee this We were lucky that we had We have two very, um Good choices and I think this probably optimizes Those the expertise that we can deliver through your staffing in in your membership. Thank you. So do I have a motion? I'm On Thank you, madam chair I moved the commission appoint commissioner on ricka zuniga to the subcommittee on addiction services Of the gaming policy advisory committee gpac transferring the appointment formally given to from mark bender mark So First it's yours all those in favor. Hi Hi We didn't ask I love staying and thank you for your vote of confidence It's a 20 year appointment for one. Thank you Thank you and thank you. Um, on ricka commissioner zuniga for agreeing to do that Thank you. Now we are moving on um To item 11, I want to point out that we do have a matter under item 13 That we don't want to address today as well. So Commissioner items, I guess we'll turn to the annual report commissioners zuniga Thank you. Um, madam chair, um the This is a brief update. Um only to report that the latest draft of the Annual report was included in the packet The Meeting before the two weeks ago It is drafted for review and final input from from the members of the commission It's already gone into editing mode with the the careful leadership of Our communications director elaine and our vendor jack rabbit to try to put together the The graphics that are fresher and et cetera We did not include it in the packet again But i'm happy to answer any questions if there is any or just report that We're working towards finalizing it So that we can distribute it early so Once again, I just I really want to thank uh commissioners zuniga for taking the lead on this It's not an easy thing to do every year It takes a lot of work It takes a lot of prodding to get all the information you need to complete the report. It's always Very professionally done. It's it's a really An excellent work product. So I want to thank you for that Thank you. It's a little later than we wished for but we are complying with Getting it done and and and that's the main reason of Um Thank you for that commissioner cameron. You want to update us on your matter? Yeah, no, I um, I mentioned at a meeting. I think there's a couple of meetings ago that I really wanted to um Take a look at the geu over time and just if there was a way I could be helpful Because I've had experience with these matters and um, Just to have a full understanding of the issues So if I can report to my fellow commissioners that I did meet with i eb leadership in order to Have a better understanding and what I um What I learned was there really are four different pots for overtime um, and the first one are details, uh for memoir And these are um paid for directly by the um By the club and they are put out as all state police Overtime details are um, and they are not they are filled by the appropriate policies and procedures Followed by the state police and again, there is no impact to the gaming enforcement unit's budget on that matter Secondly, there are special events And for an example would be uh murphy's boxing and This is very similar. It is filled by um non gaming enforcement members From everett pd as well as uh msp And it's paid for separately by on core boston harbour and again, there is new impact on the geu budget The third pot or bucket is the um overtime for uniform security there are certain times that ebh Has requested uniform coverage some of their busier times they have They have requested that coverage This is filled by our geu members. They have the experience. They know the operation. They're the best ones to work for this this detail And that is paid for directly by on core boston harbour and again, no There is no impact to the gaming enforcement unit budget and the fourth category is mgc authorized overtime and that is for all three casinos And what we're talking about there are Minimum staffing levels investigations arrest court time But the majority is really shift staffing levels And I needed to wanted to understand better what they How they were making those decisions. I actually was very satisfied to learn that um They really are looking at data and um risk analysis To judge that staffing and it continues right as we As we learn what um at each three casino what the issues have been and where the risk is they are staffing accordingly Um, and they're and and it's it's managed and tracked appropriately um Actually, it's been a long time since I've uh spoken to uh public safety personnel that take this matter very seriously and are really managing tracking and And making sure those those costs are appropriate. So for my review, I I believe that We are managing this issue and It's it's appropriately staffed Thank you for uh getting back to us on that It was important work to to go over and we appreciate your input to Derek on that Any questions for commissioner Cameron? Thank you. No, that's a very good summary. I um Just just a question the first it appears the first three instances the special events memoir and special requests It um Does that actually is that actually uh current members of the unit that have an opportunity for overtime or is it other members outside of the unit That come in Uh on an ad hoc basis. There's the the appropriate procedures in place with both Everett PD and msp for uh overtime details. They're put out and everyone has a chance to bid Um, so those uh procedures are being utilized and and typically these positions are filled by outside members of Those two those agencies Any further questions for commissioner Cameron The only question I had is I participated in at least one of the conversations on this There were some questions in terms of the numbers that we had gotten from Derek In terms of whether this was accurately reflected or not. I just wanted to make sure everything is We did update that did we update it? Okay. Yeah, so in the so in the last meeting Out of the four items that commissioner Cameron talked about the numbers that I gave to you Items one and two are not included in that items three and four are But we made a decision at that meeting that we would bill directly for item number three We just sent out the bill earlier this week for 108 thousand Two on co-boston harbour to reimburse Us for that amount But item four continues to be the largest of the of the Things that we have control over correct which as as commissioner Cameron has Detailed she's done a very thorough dive into it has worked very hard with the Gaming enforcement unit to figure out what we can do to kind of manage that going forward but Through the conversations staffing numbers are appropriate So we are probably going to need some extra money in that throughout the year They're trying to contain it so it doesn't continue to grow at the rate it is but it's going to be hard to If you know we have four months through the year and about close to 50 percent spent It's hard going to be hard to come in on that first number I think the most The piece I wanted to mention with regard to that is This is over time, but there are Personnel who have left so those salaries are not Coming to us in other words when you're a full-time member of the unit That's that salary is paid for by the gaming commission So although the overtime may be may be higher the the salary there's some offset. Yes There are good word. There are offsets there and and that has to be tracked too though because lots of times the overtime will Be it's more effective to just put another full-time Person in rather than overtime. So we're really closely looking at that. Sometimes there's a delay in You know state police have All of the pds have staffing issues So we may not always be able to get an additional Person when we think it's appropriate. So thus some overtime But the main bottom line is that Commissioner Cameron was very pleased with detective lieutenant connor's analysis and and how he is Analyzing the staffing needs Correct. Yes, and and Stay tuned in terms of whether or not he continues with the overtime versus fulfilling the other At least maybe one if not the two Thank you I am very pleased that you're looking into that. I I I'm also Very encouraged that you mentioned that it's something that we should look at periodically or you know continuously Only because there is at least in other Historically in other agencies around the country Has been the you know the progress incentives for some overtime to become a baseline and grow from there and It requires I believe the you know the the good analysis and watchful eye On a periodic basis to think critically and make those those adjustments if necessary or continue You know because they're appropriate I agree Great. Thank you Okay, moving on to number 12 Derek and Todd and Commissioner brian, I asked for you to review a request that was made regarding commissioner Cameron's pay I will be recusing myself Madam chair, I will recuse and I'll actually step out of the room as well since this item does does Refer to something that commissioners will Will talk about that concerns me so recusal and I'll step out. Thank you And we'll invite you back for item 13. Okay. Thank you Commissioner brian. I'll have you lead Just wait to the door actually close Did you want your tea? Yeah No, this item is on the agenda um at the request of um, commissioner Cameron I think to some extent executive director bourgeois in terms of um, just finishing A vote essentially an extension of a vote that the three of us took at the time when Chair Crosby resigned back in september of 18 Where the commission was left needing um to determine who would be chair and who would serve in that function And there was unanimity amongst us at the time the commissioner Cameron be that person I can speak for myself. Um Not not for you. Obviously that at the time I um anticipated and hoped she would take The responsibility authority and any benefits that went with and it seems to me she did the former and not the latter Apparently and then there is one portion of the benefits that we need to address Um, the question was whether there was any legal impediment or process, etc That would be necessary and I will defer briefly to attorney grossman in terms of um an analogous case He's located that I think addresses what we're asking Thank you commissioner brian. Um It is my opinion that uh commissioner Cameron can be compensated for her service as interim chair as a matter of law And as a matter of equity, of course There is legal authority that supports the proposition that an interim appointment By an authorized individual or entity is legally valid Even if the process that was used to obtain that appointment Would not necessarily pass muster had the appointment been intended as a permanent one The authority for that proposition stems from a 1986 SJC case That is captioned aptly versus lock the citation is 396 mass 540 That was a case that involved the interim appointment of the chair and ceo of the mbta as it was constituted at the time By statute that appointment was made by the governor But had to be approved by an advisory board In the case, uh there The gentleman was appointed on an interim basis by the governor, but was never um Signed off by that advisory board as the statute required but the Case arose because that interim ceo went on to terminate the employment of two mbta Employees who then challenged his authority to take that particular action The SJC ultimately Heard the case and held that the ceo in that matter did in fact Have legal authority to act in that situation The court relied on the fact that the appointment was of an interim nature And that nobody was claiming otherwise And that importantly it was clear that the mbta in that situation could not function for any significant period of time On a day-to-day basis without the leadership of a person in that particular position Therefore the court held specifically that it's reasonable to conclude That the interim designation of such a person by the governor Carried out the intent of the legislature under their enabling laws Therefore the interim ceo in that particular case was deemed to have the legal authority to exercise the powers of the office That particular case parallels our particular our situation here where commissioner cameron was appointed by the commission To serve in an interim capacity as the chair The appointment was clearly on an interim basis. There was never any question about that though There certainly is a provision of chapter 23k That requires the chair to be designated by the governor on a full-time basis So certainly the commission as it knew at the time could not designate a full-time chair and it did not do The appointment was made however by the body the gaming commission that has a clear statutory oversight over the organization Chapter 23k is clear on that point that the commission shall all have all powers necessary or convenient to carry out And effectuate its purposes and that's what it did in this particular case It was determined ultimately that there was a need To ensure that someone sat in that chair position while a permanent chair was being appointed by the governor Therefore it's my opinion that the interim appointment of commissioner cameron in this case was lawful And that commissioner cameron had the authority to exercise The powers of that office It follows then in my opinion That she should be entitled to the statutory compensation that is assigned to the position So that's that's my position on this matter. I'm happy to take any questions you're discussing Thank you for for that analysis. Like like you well articulated initially commissioner o bryan. I I remember at that time and I I thought it was assumed that With with the additional responsibilities or the uniqueness of that role Came the the benefits and in this case compensation differential that the statute also highlights between the commissioners and the chair At the time we we did not make that explicit And perhaps that's the main reason we we now find ourselves You know discussing here, but it's it's good. It's good to that be Better late than than than never I also would point out that even though it's fundamentally, it's a little different In our practice We have done something similar on other administrative positions When we have had an interim executive director when we had had A cio that has left and somebody else taken his Responsibilities And And in the in the case of it should be done on on other Interim positions with additional responsibilities It's only fair in in my opinion as well that those Compensation differentials be Considered at least for that interim Period so Again, even though those other instances Technically fall under the executive director's discretion We have had it for the executive director role In which we we also agreed and and conducted that practice. So there is it only Stands the reason that we would be also consistent In that in this case Yeah, I think the the team for the due diligence they did again. I joined my colleagues and in Reflecting on the fact that The appointment was interim but inherent in that was I think how we mirrored our overall HR policy when somebody has been named an interim position It was certainly a unique situation we found ourselves in and I think it required us to make you take maybe take some steps that we hadn't anticipated but Hopefully we don't find ourselves in that position again But I do join with my colleagues Kind of supporting the overall notion that I think we all had At the time of the interim appointment Just I just want to add a few things. We did this also with the racing director general counsel and senior revenue accountant as well in addition to the other positions and rike said and I do apologize for the uncomfortableness of this Discussion because it was my mistake not to actually increase her pay at that time period So if I had just done that at the time, uh, it wasn't until about a month after That we realized it hadn't happened and at that point we just said why don't we wait until a new chair? And then we'll do a lump sum so I do apologize for not Instructing truth to do this and we actually have to have this conversation It's informative Attorney Grossman and I talked about the case I reviewed the case and um On a fundamental level in terms of what the expectation was when I voted in addition to the review of the case I would agree that it fits not only within You know The law but also the intent That she have all the benefits and responsibilities Sounds like a consensus. Do we need a vote? I'd move that the commission approved retroactive pay in the amount of 15,531 dollars and 15 cents for commissioner gale cameron as compensation for her Performance as interim chair for pay periods from september 30th 2018 through january 19th of 2019 second All in favor Aye Aye Serena Yes, and one Motion carries three zero Thanks, sir. Thanks. I'm moving on to item number 13 Commissioner cameron has rejoined us and um, mr. Grossman has brought To my attention An issue that relates to regulations that we recently approved and I'll have Todd go through the regulations But apparently there was just an inadvertent oversight around the posting um on the Massachusetts register that's required I can assure you that on our end all of our work was complete and these things just simply happen It's a lot a lot of postings that have to take place, but our work was complete Um, that means that the regulations which we approved are not legally valid Todd has recommended and I'm um prepared to support this barring some Um argument that I haven't thought about That we adopt by emergency the changes that we've already approved And then it will allow them to go into effect immediately and then It does mean we'll have to move through the promulgation process Um once again Which will include a public hearing Bruce you did the um public hearing last time. There are no comments that were Received at the first round. We're going to do it. We would do an extra special around but the Timing of the effectiveness would basically have been the same Um, do you want to go through which regulations they are? Absolutely. Thank you and um, thank you madam chair I should just clarify this is under number 13. We I couldn't have reasonably anticipated this this matter came to light You as a team worked on a solution and came to me late yesterday That's right. And I would just reiterate what the chair already said you have already reviewed these regulations They went through a public hearing presided over by commissioner stevens You voted to adopt them in a public hearing Two or four weeks ago. I can't remember which They've been fully vetted. It was only after the fact that we learned there had been an administrative issue With them. So it was recommended actually by the secretary's office and I support that That we Adopt them by emergency now. They would have been in effect probably by now anyway So they'll go into effect And then we'll just go through the public process again, even though we've already gone through it the law requires the That the initial hearing notice be published in the massachusetts register Which it wasn't which somewhat taints the whole rest of the process So this is the cleanest way just to make sure there isn't any issue With these regulations, which again, we're non controversial We didn't receive any they're important But they we didn't receive any public comment or anything like that and just to recap to refresh your recollections as to what we're talking about the first was an amendment to 205 cmr 133.05 That pertain to the voluntary self exclusion list and maintenance and distribution of the list That a particular amendment would have permitted or would permit Licensees to provide an aggregated no marketing list to junket operators That will include individuals On the voluntary self exclusion list, but will not identify those people as being on the list So this was part of our suite of changes involving Junket operators and what have you we needed to match it up With our vse regulation So there was a tweak that we made in there to ensure essentially that those people aren't marketed to Once they are On the vse list the junket operators wouldn't send them marketing materials The second set of amendments were all to section 134 Those are of course the employee vendor and junket Regulations these amendments do a wide variety Of things i'll run through really quickly what they do just again to refresh attempt to refresh your recollections These Amongst other things define the process and standards that govern gaming employee licensing procedure updated elements of the appeal process Added a requirement for the fingerprinting procedure clarified the procedure for administrative closure of an application Required independently operating junket representatives to be licensed as key gaming employee standards And codified licensing or reporting requirement and restrictions for the junket operators themselves As in in addition to adding The waiting period to reapply for a gaming license in the event that an individual was denied At some point. So those are it's 130 305<PHONE_NUMBER>09 10 11 13 14 and 20 those are the section numbers that accompany the Provisions I just mentioned So as the chair mentioned there was a public hearing on november 21st That preceded your public meeting at which you voted to approve And again, they've gone through the entire process. They've Been published in the newspaper You had a public hearing you voted on these in public But now we're just recommending they'd be adopted by emergency and then we'll bring them back through the process I thought If memory serves me well, these these are the only Set of recent regulations that we have That have gone through the whole promulgation process. Is that correct? I think this is the most recent the most recent Yes, sir, right. Yeah so the immediate fix would be to allow Mr. Grossman to proceed with the emergency regulation process That's right. So basically with your approval We would file these emerge regulations by emergency. So once you vote on them, they would become effective We filed them with the secretary's office Today tomorrow or monday And then we would begin by filing a notice of a public hearing and at some point in the future probably two months out And have another public hearing in that home And that's a similar process whenever we adopt anything by the same exact That's right. It's the only difference here. What's what's remind me of the time frame for a Emergency it's only it's got a shelf life of only 90 days. You have to go through the whole process within 90 days Which we can easily do Do I have a motion? All right, well, I'm sorry. Did you have another question? No, it sounds appropriate It just was that it's a housekeeping error, you know, it's really an administrative matter. Yeah Yeah, and these things happen and that we've got a remedy Here in this case without compromising really process just redundancy, right? That's right Did anybody catch all the name all the numbers? Yeah, well here if you want to refer to them all they're right here You could Madam chair I moved the commission Adopt following regulations on an emergency basis 205 cmr 133.05 134.01 0.06 0.07 0.09 0.10 0.11 0.13 0.14 and 0.20 So With official Regulation promulgation process to be commenced second Any further questions? Thank you. Time for bringing that to my attention Those in favor. Aye. Aye. Aye. Opposed? 5-0. Thank you. Thank you Well Marianne we did so well Conclusion of the meeting was timed out first time for Marianne 355 and We are concluding at 348 so Thank you. You've learned from the best Do I have a motion I move to adjourn second all those in favor. Bye. Bye Opposed? 5-0. Happy holidays. Thank you


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