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HARRISBURG Last fall, more than 2,300 miles from Pennsylvanias Capitol, the top lobbyist for a gaming company seeking a lucrative gambling expansion helped host a fundraiser in Las Vegas for the leading Republican in the state Senate, Joe Scarnati.

The elaborate event was held at the famed Bellagio Hotel and Casino, records show. For tickets ranging in price from $7,500 to $25,000, donors gained access to rounds of golf, a hockey game, and a cocktail hour and dinner at a glitzy restaurant overlooking the Vegas strip.

Several months later, executives from the gaming company, Golden Entertainment, poured thousands of dollars into a campaign committee controlled by Scarnati and close associates.

Now, Scarnati and other top Republicans are working feverishly behind closed doors to whip up votes for a bill that would help Golden and others like it cash in on the next frontier of expanded gambling, potentially worth millions of dollars: video-gaming terminals, known better as VGTs.

In recent days, lobbyists and top Republican leaders have mounted a full-court press to convince rank-and-file senators to vote for ushering in thousands more of the slots-like terminals, according to two legislative sources familiar with the effort.

The behind-the-scenes push, expected to culminate in a Senate vote as soon as Monday, comes as the legislature faces massive challenges, most notably the fallout from a pandemic that has killed 6,361 Pennsylvanians and ravaged the economy, as well as the largest civil rights protests of a generation and demands for systemic overhauls of the police.

But with lawmakers set to soon depart Harrisburg for a summer of campaigning leading up to the November elections and Scarnati set to retire from the Senate the rush is on to expand VGTs. The maneuvering offers a window into the raw intersection of politics and policy-making in Pennsylvania, and how campaign dollars can drive the legislative agenda.

A spokesperson for Scarnati said the senator typically does not respond to inquiries on bills that have yet to see movement.

Calls and emails to Golden Entertainment officials were not returned. Dave Thomas, the lobbyist who heads the Harrisburg-based firm that helped organize Scarnatis Las Vegas fundraiser, declined to comment specifically on the fundraiser or the bill under discussion.

But speaking generally, Thomas said: Giving them money doesnt mean jack.

Campaign records and other documents reviewed by Spotlight PA and The Caucus show that gaming operators and their lobbyists have donated tens of thousands of dollars to legislative leaders and even appear to be drafting the exact language to be used in the expansion bill.

The push for more VGTs has been controversial in a state that has grappled with balancing the rapid expansion of gambling with the need for new revenue. In Pennsylvania, casino gambling was legalized in 2004. Since then, lawmakers have vastly expanded the types of games people can play and where they can play them. That includes VGTs.

They were first approved on a limited basis in late 2017 as part of a hard-fought budget deal between Gov. Tom Wolf and Republicans, who control both legislative chambers. That agreement which also legalized online gambling and authorized new mini-casinos around the state permitted VGTs, but only at truck stops.

There are now 135 terminals at 27 truck stops across the state.

The proposal now being championed by Scarnati and other top Senate Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman (R., Centre), would allow those machines in bars, taverns, social clubs, and other venues with liquor licenses, vastly expanding their reach and profits.

Under current law, truck stops brought in nearly $6 million in VGT revenues in the most recent fiscal year. The state takes a 42% cut, and the host municipality another 10%. The steep taxes, however, are indicative of just how lucrative the machines are for operators.

Separately, the proposal also seeks to regulate and tax so-called skill game machines for the first time, which currently are in thousands of venues across the state, including gas stations. That proposal also has powerful and deep-pocketed interests for and against it.

In an interview Thursday, Corman confirmed there is a push to expand VGTs, which he said could raise money to offset property taxes for seniors.

Beyond that, supporters believe expanding VGTs and taxing them will help rake in revenue, not just for the state, but for many small bars whose business has been ravaged by the coronavirus. Detractors counter that the state already has too much gambling. The states casinos also fiercely oppose the proposal because they believe it will cut into their earnings.

We are shocked and alarmed by the persistent speculation that the General Assembly is considering an expansion of gaming to include both broad-based VGT gambling throughout communities and the legalization of currently illegal skill game slot machines that are being operated outside of our facilities, 13 licensed casino owners and operators wrote in a letter this week to legislative leaders. The legislature determined that such broad-based gaming expansion would have had a devastating impact on both Pennsylvanias casinos and the Pennsylvania Lottery. This is even more true today.

One legislative aide, who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak publicly, said some senators were surprised at the push given the legislature is wrestling with bills related to the states coronavirus response and measures to improve police oversight.

As of late Thursday, there did not appear to be a draft of an actual bill. But proposed language written by a lobbyist for the trade association representing gaming operators of VGTs including Golden Entertainment was making the rounds inside the Capitol.

In a statement, Jeff Sheridan, a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Video Gaming Association, did not address why the trade groups lobbyist had drafted the language, or to whom it was circulated.

Instead, he reiterated the associations support for the expansion and said it would benefit small businesses as they recover from the greatest economic and health crisis in our lifetimes.

The association and its members have pushed hard for placing VGTs beyond truck stops. And gaming operators, their executives, and their lobbyists have also contributed thousands of dollars to campaigns of key decision-makers in the Capitol.

One of the biggest beneficiaries was a campaign committee run by Scarnati.

In a series of stories last year on how some lawmakers are able to hide campaign expenses in their public disclosures, Spotlight PA and The Caucus reported that Scarnati and his campaign advisors began fundraising with casino executives in Las Vegas in May 2018.

According to newly obtained campaign receipts, Scarnati, his wife Amy, and his former chief of staff returned to Las Vegas last October. Almost all of the receipts totaling $1,757 for their flights and some meals between Oct. 16 and 19 have handwritten notes indicating they were for a DT event or DT fundraiser.

DT refers to Dave Thomas, the lobbyist for Golden Entertainment and a one-time top House and Senate lawyer. Campaign finance records show Thomas also does campaign work for Scarnati. In the months leading up to the October 2019 fundraiser, for instance, Scarnatis campaign paid The DT Firm $60,000 for consulting services.

According to a copy of the invitation for the fundraiser obtained by the news organizations, the event was a private reception supporting Scarnati that spanned several days. It was held during the same week of the 2019 Global Gaming Expo, which is North Americas largest gaming trade event. It asked guests to RSVP to The DT Firm, and make checks payable to Scarnatis campaign.

Check-in was at the Bellagio Hotel and Casino on Oct. 17, followed by a hockey game between the Ottawa Senators and the Vegas Golden Knights. The next day included a round of golf at the Cascata Golf Club and dinner that evening at Top of the World, a restaurant in The STRAT Hotel, Casino & Skypod located more than 800 feet above the Las Vegas strip that offers panoramic views as it revolves 360 degrees every 80 minutes.

The STRAT hotel and casino is owned by Golden Entertainment, according to its website.

This year, in the waning days of the primary election, four top executives at Golden Entertainment contributed a total of $42,500 to a political action committee run by Scarnati and his close associates called Citizens for a Better Pennsylvania.

Those were the only donations the committee which had $581,600 in the bank at the start of 2020 received all year. They came as Scarnati spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to prop up the failed campaign of his hand-picked successor in Jefferson County, Herm Suplizio.

Most of Scarnatis spending was to pay The DT Firm, which then paid for advertising related to Suplizios campaign.

It is not clear when Thomas firm began doing paid campaign work in addition to lobbying, a practice that has been criticized by good government advocates as blurring the lines between politics and policy-making, and between lobbyists and elected officials.

Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/Patriot-News and other Pennsylvania reporting organizations. Sign up for our free weekly newsletter.

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Top Pa. Republican is fast-tracking a lucrative gambling expansion that would benefit a major campaign donor - Bradford Era

This article is part of an ongoing TimesOC series about young politicians in Orange County. As a new generation is politically activated in the wake of the recent youth-driven protests, young O.C. politicians share insights about their paths in local government.

When Jeremy Yamaguchi was first elected into the Placentia City Council in 2008 at age 19, he became the youngest elected official in the city, county, and possibly the state. Same for when he became mayor at age 22.

But Yamaguchi, now 31, had been accompanying his parents as they volunteered for various city commissions since he was 10. His mother was involved in the neighborhood watch and the committee that plans the annual Placentia Heritage Day Parade.

By the age of 18, I had attended more city committee meetings than most people have attended in their lifetimes, he said.

A fourth-generation Japanese American, Yamaguchi said previous generations of his family relocated from Los Angeles to O.C. for opportunities in businesses and the aerospace industry.

His grandfather grew up in Los Angeles Terminal Island community before being sent to the Manzanar internment camp in the 1940s in reaction to the attack on Pearl Harbor. He graduated high school in the camp and later joined the 442nd Infantry Regiment, composed almost entirely of second-generation Japanese Americans who volunteered to fight during World War II.

Yamaguchi is also the third generation of his family to work at Disneyland. His grandfather had an industrial-installation company that set up refineries, steam boilers and submarines at Disneyland, and hed pay his middle-school grandson to work in the Anaheim warehouse.

Yamaguchis dad, a retired sergeant of the Placentia Police Department, worked in food service at Disneyland, while his mom worked at the Main Street souvenir shops.

Placentia City Council members get paid $150 a month, so as his day job, Yamaguchi works in sound production. He has worked on live events for Disneyland, including its Christmas parade, marathon and recently the grand opening event for Star Wars Land, with the Placentia-based company Audiowest.

During the pandemic, he has pivoted to helping churches and other companies set up to livestream their services.

Yamaguchi started his own production company, Eagle Multimedia, in his senior year at El Dorado High School, right after he got his Eagle Scout award.

It was the Eagle Scouts that gave him the confidence to run for office where he received the highest total vote count before he had even completed his degree in political science at Cal State Fullerton.

In 2008, Jeremy Yamaguchi, 19 at the time, greets attendees at a Placentia Chamber of Commerce event, after being elected to the Placentia City Council.

(Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

In high school, he was a representative for the Southern California division of the Boy Scouts, which spanned from Bakersfield to San Diego, and he was on the board of directors for the Boy Scouts of America Orange County Council. Trained in executive-style leadership, he was comfortable running business meetings and reporting up to the state and national levels.

When he first joined the council, Placentia had lost millions of dollars on a failed railroad project, which resulted in indictments against former city officials charged with violating conflict-of-interest laws and put the city on the brink of bankruptcy.

Twelve years later, Yamaguchi feels the five council members work well together and have the best interests of the city at hand.

Protesters gather at Main Beach Park in Laguna Beach on June 5. In the last few weeks, there have been peaceful protests across Orange County, including one in Placentia on June 6.

(Raul Roa/Staff Photographer)

Earlier this month, as protests against the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis spread to Orange County, Yamaguchi was frustrated by what he called the disproportionate attention the media paid to the rioting and looting.

Thats disheartening and frustrating to me, not only because of the victims of that who have to go back and pick up the pieces of their business on top of dealing with COVID-19 but also because the attention isnt going to the protesters being peaceful and exercising their 1st amendment rights, Yamaguchi said.

He said that at the June 6 protest in Placentia, the police didnt need to intervene. If anything, he saw demonstrators self-policing themselves, when anyone got too rowdy, and the police officers helping the marchers walk into roadways safely.

If somebody says there isnt room for improvement, theyre being naive, Yamaguchi said. At the very least, all elected officials and representatives of the government should take this moment in time to take pause and reflect on where weve come, where we are now and how can we make it even better? The cities that are open-minded are the ones showing the best leadership.

Placentias police budget is about 35% of the citys total, and Yamaguchi said that their officers are among the lower-compensated in the county.

Yet, despite having three gangs in Little Placentia, he said crime rates are low, which he attributes to their community policing, nonprofit groups and community centers that provide after school programs.

For those protesting, many of them youth interested in advocating for political change, Yamaguchi recommends nailing down a unified message and drafting an action plan.

Anyone can point out a problem, he said. But its the doers and thinkers that can come up with solutions and present them in a way that can work for public agencies.

Placentia Councilman Jeremy Yamaguchi speaks at a ceremony in 2012 when the traveling replica of the Vietnam Memorial Wall was displayed in the citys Tri-City Park.

(Courtesy of Jeremy Yamaguchi)

For young Placentia locals, he recommends applying for the citys Recycle Teen Team, an annual program he participated in back in the mid 2000s when it first started.

The members advocate for environmental sustainability in the community, attend commission and committee meetings and learn about how City Hall works.

While his own journey in politics has been relatively smooth, he acknowledges that age discrimination is an issue in government.

Republicans probably wont like me saying this, but the Republicans eat their own, especially in O.C., Yamaguchi said. And its unfortunate that they dont have a more inclusive environment.

Ive been on the receiving end of that energy coming from the Republican Party both at state level and county level, and until they wake up and realize that, theyre going to continue to see their numbers dwindle and their support stagnate.

He points to how difficult it is to get an endorsement as a Republican if youve ever voted for a tax increase or if youve ever taken money from unions. Yamaguchi himself recently voted for a tax increase in Placentia because he felt the city wasnt getting its fair share of revenue coming from online sales.

In that process, theyre in essence fighting conservatives and moderates from getting into office, he said.

He feels that his experience speaks for itself. At this point, he is the most tenured council member in Placentia.

And because Placentia recently voted to change their elections to voting by district, the term limits have been reset. This means that while he would have been capped at three consecutive terms of office its now possible for Yamaguchi to serve for another 12 years representing a specific district of Placentia.

Earlier in his political career, others encouraged him to run for higher office, and he even interned at a state senators office.

But after much soul searching, and especially now that he has a 2-year-old daughter at home, he wants to stay in local politics.

Its not everybodys cup of tea, Yamaguchi said. Its definitely a labor of love.

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12 years in office, Jeremy Yamaguchi still sees resistance from the Republican Party toward young politicians - Los Angeles Times

Cries of defund the police and abolish the police made their way to New York States legislators, who responded with legislation aimed at reforming the police. One of the most popular bills proposed, known as the Eric Garner Anti-Chokehold Act, would make it a Class-C felony for a police officer to use a chokehold or similar restraint. The bill passed in the New York State Assembly 140-3, and passed unanimously in the New York State Senate.

One of those three no votes came from District 9 Assemblyman Mike LiPetri of Massapequa.

I understand the gravity of the situations that have unfolded, but we must remember that the heroes that protect our communities day in and day out also put their lives on the line every day, LiPetri said when explaining his vote to his fellow lawmakers in a speech. Officers must have all the tools available throughout the state to deter that criminal from hurting law-abiding Americans. The last thing I want to do is to disarm our police officers and put them at a disadvantage against a criminal.

On Twitter, LiPetri added that instead of legislating tactical decisions, we should focus on improving training, supervision and increasing our community policing efforts to solve the problems we face as Americans.

In speaking about the vote to a reporter from Anton Media Group, LiPetri continually referenced his need to do what he felt was the right thing instead of being P.C.

The bills namesake, Eric Garner, was choked to death by an NYPD officer who placed him in a chokehold while arresting him on suspicion of selling loose cigarettes, even though the NYPD banned the use of chokeholds by its officers in 1993.

Garner was 34 when he died. Medical examiners ruled the death a homicide.

LiPetri is currently seeking the Republican nomination to succeed Peter King as the congressman for New Yorks Second Congressional District. He is running against fellow Republican assemblyman Andrew Garbarino, who to this point has secured the lions share of endorsements from Long Islands Republicans, including Kings.

LiPetri has campaigned in part on a promise to support law enforcement. Prior to entering politics, LiPetri served as a defense attorney for New York City, in which capacity he said he defended the NYPD in civil suits.

As an attorney, Mike has worked with law enforcement and emergency services providers, LiPetris biography page on the assemblys website reads. Understanding their commitment to our neighborhoods and their unwavering service, Mike will continue to advocate on their behalf and take steps to provide additional resources to help curtail the proliferation of heroin and other opioids in communities across the state.

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Nassau Republican One Of Only Three To Vote No On Chokehold Ban - Glen Cove Record Pilot

Over the last few years, Charlotte Pence-Bond has made it a habit not to mention what her dad does for a living unless she's asked.

That's because her father is Vice President Mike Pence. "If they know who my dad is, [they] have a perception of me," Pence-Bond, 26, tells CNBC Make It.

But says Pence-Bond, "I can either be discouraged by [perceptions] or I can use it to start a conversation, which is what I've tried to do."

While navigating her father's fame hasn't always been easy "It has definitely taught me to just allow people to have their opinions and to be okay with that," she says her father, and his rise from congressman to governor of Indiana to vice president of the United States, has taught her a lot about success and following her dreams.

Ever since Pence-Bond and her siblings, Audrey, now 24, and Michael, 28, were kids, their dad would always tell them the "first step to following your dreams is to talk about them."

He said by speaking your dreams, you gain confidence in pursuing them.

"When things are unspoken, we tend to fear them a lot more," Pence-Bond says.

Pence-Bond first spoke her own dream of becoming a writer at the age of 7.

Though she was so young she could barely write complete sentences, she wrote out father's biography, including how grew up one of six kids in Columbus, Indiana during the '60s, andabouthis career as conservative radio host (before he successfully got into politics).Then she gave it to her dad as a gift.

From that day on, her dad encouraged her to keep pursuing her dream, she says.

Seventeen years later, she wrote about it in her first published book, "Where You Go: Life Lessons from My Father": "Often, during special times with family, Dad would wink at me and say, 'You'll put this in a book one day, Booh (his nickname for me since I was little)," she wrote.

The book came to fruition after Glamour magazine asked Pence-Bond to write a story about her experience on the campaign trail with her family in 2016. The article published that October, called "Mike Pence's Daughter Reveals the Lessons Her Father Taught Her," inspired her to write a book about her father, which came out in 2018.

Though Pence-Bond is inspired by her father, that doesn't mean she always agrees with him.

For instance, Pence-Bond says she will often call her dad after seeing a news report on something she didn't like. Though she did not name specific issues on which they disagree, she says, "usually it'll be more that I'll have questions about something."

"I'll read something in the news and I will be upset about it, and I'll call him and usually there's another side to the story," she says.

For what it's worth, Trump doesn't seem to be one of the things the Pences disagree on. Pence-Bond says her opinion of the president hasn't changed since she first met him during a breakfast meeting at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey when he was searching for a vice president.

"Once I met their family, I really didn't have any hesitation about [my dad becoming his running mate,]" she says. "I've just always had a great experience with [the Trumps]."

Pence-Bond says she thinks her dad and Trump "complement each other."

"My dad has been in politics a lot longer and so he has that experience," Pence Bond says (though many have criticized his record).

"And I think President Trump is very appealing to people because he had not been in politics for that long," she says. (Of course, that's also a criticism of Trump.)

"I think that both of their styles are unique."

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Mike Pence's daughter Charlotte: Dad taught me the 'first step to following your dreams is to talk about them' - CNBC

To the editor: Almost anyone would be better as president than Donald Trump, whose inept management has led to our current public health crisis and economic recession. But as a nurse practitioner, I question columnist Jonah Goldbergs belief that Vice President Mike Pence would have handled the pandemic better if Trump had been removed from office.

As governor of Indiana, Pences handling of an HIV outbreak in 2015 caused the small city of Austin to have a higher incidence of infection than any country in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Pence has falsely said that coronavirus spikes are due solely to a rise in testing. He has also denied there will be a second wave of COVID-19 infections. We are not even out of the first wave, and in August the number of cases will likely increase.

Who should be handling the pandemic? Public health officials in the federal government. Neither Trump nor Pence have shown any ability to handle this pandemic since they were warned about it urgently and repeatedly in January.

Jacqueline Ficht, South Pasadena

..

To the editor: During all this turmoil it would seem like anyone would be a better president than Trump. While this pandemic rages on, it is clear that the citizens of the country desire and require a calm, compassionate leader.

What Goldberg seems to forget while considering Pence for his quiet, assured and reassuring, professionalism is his horrendous handling of the HIV outbreak in Indiana during his time as governor. He compounded the problem with his denial and disregard, something Pence seems to be good at.

While Trump is a walking disaster, it says a lot about where we currently stand that a reasonable person would consider such an awful and ineffective elected official like Pence to be better. Death by fire and death by drowning are both still death.

Kyle Thomas, Hollywood

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Why a President Mike Pence would have mishandled COVID too - Los Angeles Times