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VI UPDATE U.S. Virgin Islands Public Records TRANSCRIPT OF PUBLIC PROCEEDINGS VICCC Quarterly Hearing and Meeting No 003 2024 09112024 Casino Control Commission (VICCC) July 10, 2024 · 1.4 hours · gov Source recording https://youtu.be/COzjXs-YrII Status This is NOT the official transcript. 3 V.I.C. § 884 requires the agency itself to make a verbatim record of its proceedings and reduce it to a transcript within sixty days. This is a working transcript produced by machine from a recording of the proceeding, offered as a finding aid. Transcribed by VI Update, using OpenAI Whisper large-v3-turbo, run locally. Not reviewed by a person. Reliability Automatic transcription, UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording before relying on it. Speech recognition splits spoken digits and wraps figures mid-number, so a dollar amount, a vote count or a bill number can be wrong in a way that reads as correct. 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Thank you. 0:00:00 good morning this is our third quarterly regular meeting of 2024 of the virgin alice casino control commission is hereby called to order today is wednesday september 11th 2024 board i'd like for us before we move on to the roll call to stand in observance of what took place this country some 23 years ago we will stand and observe a minute of silence thank you very much two years ago the tragedy that took place in our country and we should never more call please good morning commissioner luther f renee commissioner carolyn p herman purcell 0:02:00 commissioner marvin l pickering president mr chairman all present no absence thank you very much madam clerk the commission is comprised of three members all two members are present thereby establishing a quora please read the rest of the agenda continuing on with the quarterly meeting and hearing number 003-2024 number item number three approval of minutes of july 10 2024 agenda item number four reports of officers a secretary treasurer report b vice chairs report c chairman's report agenda item number five report of division and game of gaming enforcement dge agenda item number six new business a approval of licensure resolution number zero zero six dash two zero two four agenda item number seven caravel hotel and casino a update on plans for responsible gaming education month rgem agenda item number eight divvy karina bay casino a update on air conditioning system and roof repairs b status update on the divvy residences project c update on plans for a responsible gaming education month rgem 0:04:14 agenda item number nine any other business agenda item number 10 adjournment thank you uh I'd like to remind all of the attendants to please silence your phones turn them off I'd like to also acknowledge the presence of the others uh here today we have our executive director David Smith uh to her left we have our licensing compliance officer we have um our i.t support specialists in the back we have uh we have uh director david from dje and i believe i see a member of the president hours good morning okay okay good so let us uh move on to the next order of christmas which is night attend 0:06:15 Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. 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VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 1 of 9 Casino Control Commission (VICCC) · VICCC Quarterly Hearing and Meeting No 003 2024 0911 number three on the agenda which is a quarter of a minute and july 10th 2020 do i hear mr chairman i may yes mr chair i move that the commission approved the verbatim transcript dated july 10th of 2024 as the minutes of the quarterly meeting and hearing tell on july 10th 14 i so moved chairman second the motion to the minutes the quarterly minutes of the icc of july 10th transition the motion to approve the minutes of july 10 2024 meeting has been moved by commissioner and seconded by uh commissioner with a hearing no objections the motion to approve don't uh the motion to approve them is his stay away next item on the agenda is item number four which is the report of the officers we want to begin with the second secretary of treasury board followed by vice chairs and then the chairperson um that said uh commissioner Thank you Mr Chairman, good morning to all. The following is a report of some of the activities that have been engaged in since our last quarterly meeting that was held on July 10th, 2024. 0:08:02 On July 10th, attended hearings and complaints brought by DGE requesting that the Commission locate the ICC-issued work permits for several casino and hotel employees who have provided incorrect information on the VICC application for licenses. On July 16th, attended the VICCA executive team meeting to discuss and prepare for the upcoming budget hearings for the 35th legislature of the Virgin Islands. 0:09:43 On July 17, accompanied Chairman Marlon Pickering, Vice-Chair Karin, Government of South, Executive Director Linus Smith, as the VICC's 2025 budget was presented to the Committee on Budget, Appropriation and Finance of the 35th Legislature of the Virgin Islands. July 30th, completed and submitted all final documents requested by FEMA for reimbursement of funds, expenses incurred for the installation of air vents and other air quality control sensors at our building, the Casino Control Commission building. july 31st at a request of executive director smith attended two jolt meetings in preparation for the launch of this time and attendance management software this tool which included training and performance expectation modules has been widely accepted and recently implemented by the commission on august 6th newly formed stakeholders meeting with human resources personnel of both casinos and members of the vic team which included myself executive director the licensing and compliance officer and our archivist initially met to discuss the recently implemented the icc application advisory a new magnet which stems from pairing held by dge 0:10:22 complaints of july 10th this engagement is a very cordial exchange on measures that will be facilitate that will facilitate the licensing process to improve efficiency and reduce tariffs On August 15th, 2024, participated in the Performance Expectations and Training for VICC's casino inspectors, the Executive Director and the Licensing and Compliance Officer to discuss issues of mutual concern, especially with the launching of the dual system and daily reporting protocols on august 15 2024 participated in joint meeting with executive director linda smith and licensing officer mama astrid to update chairman pickering on the launch of the icc joint system on august 22nd and 23rd 2024 participated in conducting interviews of eight candidates for the vic casino inspector one position on august 27 2024 participated in the vic executive meeting 007 2024 on august 28 participated in conducting interviews of candidates for the legal counsel position at the vicc august 29 2024 attended the meeting consisting of several members of vicc executive team to make final selection for the casino inspector one position 0:12:13 on september 3rd attended and participated in the vicc sponsored annual code of ethics training which was facilitated by mr john aprilson in addition to the involved mention i have various occasions accompanied executive director linda smith in talks and discussions with representatives of grs the vicc's landlord on matters related to maintenance care and ongoing upkeep of the building we now occupy this includes addressing longs long-standing issues including roof leaks and repairs plumbing generator room drainage crack walls and repair of the rock wall on the outside with the plants met with atlas schooling to discuss issues raised in an indoor quality investigation conducted by adequate environmental services spent considerable amount of time trying to locate contractors to provide a service of the restoration of water damage documents a non-negotiable fever by team of mandate for a couple of the weekends i was tasked to present and to facilitate access to the generator room for contracted workers engaged in the installation of newly acquired automatic transfer switch and other labeled electrical installations to share that with me to the panel thank you thank you thank you um my report as in the package covers some areas um 0:14:02 commissioner renee has addressed but since the last quarterly meeting held on july 10th of 2024 engage in certain activities these include on september 3rd of 2024 i also attended the annual ethics training i found the spirited discussion of our code of ethics informative and a reminder that as commissioners and staff our conduct and compliance with law does much to instill public confidence and integrity and impartiality of the licensure and regulatory work of the virgin islands casino control commission um i sat in four hearings of complaints filed by the virgin islands division of game and enforcement on the replication of registrations and licenses issued by the virgin islands casino control commission to casino hotels and casino employees this occurred on july 10th 2024 i also attended uh the commission's presentation of the fy 2025 budget before the budget appropriations and finance committee of the 35th legislature on july 17th of 2024. likewise i participated in the interviews and the final selections the casino inspector one physician august 21st to the 22nd 0:16:05 Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. 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VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 2 of 9 Casino Control Commission (VICCC) · VICCC Quarterly Hearing and Meeting No 003 2024 0911 was interviews and the final selection made on august 29th of 2024 i also participated in the interviews of the applicants for the acquisition of legal counsel on august 28th of 2024 and in the final selection process and august 29th i continue to work with mango media concerning the virgin islands casino control commission's problem gambling responsible gaming media campaign and in the course of this hearing more will be provided on that i think we're at the point where we can now share with the general public to work on that campaign and finally i participated in the selection of the company to prepare the internet gaming and gambling marketing and policy analysis as we move forward with the internet gaming uh so chair that concludes my degree thank you very much my advice chair not wanting cheers some items previously mentioned um again without what you're hearing at the uh budget appropriations and finance committee on july 17th um as you are aware the central government provides funding is one of the funding sources for the casino control commission the central government pays for the salaries and related french french benefits of the uh commission the commission requested a total of one point for that purpose because you have a total of 1 604 300 in fiscal year 2025 which is an increase of 180 500 over the fiscal year 2024 budget of 1 422 800 the majority of this increase comprise the addition of two casino inspectors at the course of roughly 141 000 total um as a member of the nagra uh conference planning committee nagra north american gaming regulations regulators association of which the commission is a member uh participated in that meeting that planning meeting for the on july 25th and august 15 uh the planning is for the 2025 annual conference which is scheduled for june 2nd and 5th in 0:18:00 nashville tennessee the next planning meeting is scheduled for september 19 2024 i attended the on august 6 i attended the national council of problem gaming annual meeting annual membership meeting which was held via zoom The fiscal year 2022 audit financial audit has begun. The audit is being conducted by Bert Smith & Company. The engagement letter was signed on August 6, 2024. Convene executive meeting number 007, 2024, and August 27, 2024. Licensure resolutions adopted during that meeting are on today's agenda for approval. 0:20:20 On August 15th, the commission issued a cease and desist letter to Wharfside Hotel on the island of St. John, requiring them to stop representing that they have a casino on their property. Casinos are only permitted in the district of St. Croix. The website is subject to responding and the Commission has moved references to the casino from its website. The TV ads are currently being monitored and just last night I heard that commercial again and it did mention casino so we have to follow up on that and take it to the next slide. 0:21:12 the commission received on july 22nd 2024 compliance product reports of the two uh casino licensees which were conducted by spectrum gaming group at the initiation of dge director david those reports contain significant findings that need to be addressed by the casino licensees uh i believe um invitation letters were sent out to the casino with the commission um uh on november 24th and 25th february uh okay the uh commission received one complaint fired by dge against tragedy bi llc for an alleged violation of title 32 via code section 423a additionally the dge submitted two uh che investigative reports and two incident investigation reports regarding a self-excluded person and a patron complaint in regards to staffing it was mentioned uh by my two colleagues uh earlier that we interviewed for uh casino inspector one position and we interviewed for legal counsel position we have uh so we have selected um those individuals from those positions leave the uh one one inspectors beginning on september 23rd um we also made a selection of uh an individual for the council the commission is now in a discussion with that individual regarding uh financial matters and related activities 0:22:09 licenses issued by the commission for the period october 1st 2023 through august 31st 2024 the commission issued a total of 285 licenses and statements of compliance in various categories as follows casino employees 96 casino key employees 37 gaming related nine non-gaming related seven statement of compliance casino employees 84 casino key employees 38 even related five non-gaming related six these are all statements of compliance and casino casino license three for the same period which is in addition to the issuance of licenses the commission issued 331 work permits 94 exemptions from licensure and 83 waivers from registration and licensure financial before for the 2024 fiscal year the period ended july 31st 2024 total revenues including the gbs contribution of one million one hundred thirty seven thousand five million fifty dollars for payroll amounted to two million one hundred forty seven twenty and fifty dollars expenses including payroll total 1 million 529 1112 resulting in a surplus for a period of 618 138 dollars the largest expenditure amount of course is for payroll and payroll related expenses the permissions total budget for fiscal year 2024 is 2 million 394 thousand five hundred dollars in projected revenues and 2 million 292 thousand dollars in projected expenditures 0:24:05 for projected surplus of 101 600 gross casino revenues cgcr for the period october 1st 2023 to july 31st 2024 as reported by the casino licensees dv and caraville um um amounted to 15 million four hundred ninety nine thousand four and forty dollars gcr is the total amount received by a casino licensee less amounts paid out as winnings to patrons the gcr is taxed at a rate of 12 percent which is paid into the casino revenue fund the commission receives 75 percent of those tax revenues with the remaining 75 percent being allocated to support to support other government agencies uh as it relates to 0:26:08 Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. 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VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 3 of 9 Casino Control Commission (VICCC) · VICCC Quarterly Hearing and Meeting No 003 2024 0911 the employment stats the quarter ended in June 30 of 2024 both casinos reported a combined gross total payroll of two million seven hundred nine thousand seven hundred seven hundred fifty dollars for the three orders ended june 30 of 2020 um with a total head count of 318 employees the total payroll for the first second and third quarters of this fiscal year amongst to seven million eight hundred eighteen thousand two hundred eighty two dollars with an average head count of 310 employees other spending for goods and services uh from the from the casino industry uh amounted to some 16 million four hundred four thousand nine hundred fifty seven dollars for the three quarters ended june 30th 2024 uh examples of other goods and services including food liquor advertising insurance legal professional services etc etc etc our casino industry is most on point contributed greatly to the treasury of the virgin manage and we thank you darren and she created this report we're going on to the next item we will now hear from i didn't forget to this time Thank you Mr Chair. Good morning, I am R Oliver David, Director of the Division of Giving Enforcement. It is under the Virgin Islands Department of Justice. 0:28:33 Since DGE's last quarterly report, quarterly performance report dated June 25, 2024, the DGE accomplished the following due diligence investigation. The DGE completed due diligence investigation of two casino hotel employee applicants, which was transferred to the Commission. During that time, the DGE closed out its investigation of 30 applicants. These are applicants who were terminated or resigned prior to DGE completing its investigation. 0:29:18 The DGE partially completed due diligence investigation of one casino services entity gaming-related license applicants and their coin files. During that period, the DGE opened 42 new hard copy electronic application files. The DGE received three complaints from the BICCC for investigation for alleged violation of Virgin Islands Casino laws and BICCC rules and regulations. DGE completed two investigations regarding these complaints and transmitted its reports to the BICCC. Additionally, the DGE filed one complaint against the DBE current debate casino for violate for alleged violation of vi casino laws and vi ccc rules and regulations and was successful in prosecuting three employees of the db current bay resort and casino for violating vi ccc rules and regulations requests for technical assistance jackpot verification during that period the dge's technical staff have responded to approximately 11 requests for technical assistance from both the DV Corinda Bay and the Caravelle Casino. DGE staff assisted the gaming technicians at the casinos in addressing technical problems with EGMs to have these machines returned to the giving floor as soon as possible. Additionally, the DGE's technical staff responded to requests for assistance in verifying two jackpots in excess of $25,000 compliance audit. 0:29:58 DGE received audit reports from Spectrum Gaming Group which was previously engaged by DGE to conduct a comprehensive compliance of the operations of both the IGL and DP Courant Debate Resort and Casino. DGE has forwarded the reports to BICCC and the respective casinos and have convened meetings shortly with this BICCC and the management of the respective casinos to discuss the findings of the odds and proposed solutions. Training. In anticipation of the commencement of the construction of the Racino at the Randall-Doc James restaurant and to get a better feel of the change in landscape of merger of racing and gaming, in August I attended the Racing and Gaming Conference in Saratoga, New York. The conference dealt with various aspects performance to include land-based casino, i-gaming, sport betting, and was extremely informative. 0:31:37 Two of the sessions I attended were titled, one, Rexinos, Can or Should They Survive in the New Gaming Landscape? And another was entitled, Toad Hold, the Background of Racing. I was able to meet representatives of the various thought companies present to get some information regarding the operations dge continues to struggle to maintain the volume of efficiency performing its mandated duties duties current staffing level again i would say dge have only three employees dge has to do everything from the investigations to the technical uh requests from the casino and everything else because the secretarial work whatever has to be done it's done by registry of noise. Once again, I thank Chairman Pickering for his lobbying efforts on behalf of DGE for the DGE to obtain an increase in its staffing. I'm also thankful to Attorney General Mamini Gonareo, who has recognized the need for additional staffing for the DGE and his push to address that need. That's all we have. Thank you, Director David. colleagues do you have any questions for director david on his report i know thank you uh you have any further discussions with uh the attorney general regarding your staffing uh i will listen to a portion of the uh budget hearing where uh it was mentioned uh about your 0:32:36 lack of resources um any welcome uh uh conversations uh yes i have i would say good news bad news i think about two weeks ago i had a meeting with data in general and he confirmed that he made a request with regard to the utilization of the ARPA funds and he's requesting three additional employees for DG. Informally, I heard that ARPA fund is no longer available. So I backed the square one. So it was, I spoke to my staff and I didn't indicate to them that there's some light at the end of the tunnel when he told me that we started to discuss it. and you know he he saw the need and he was as i indicated one of the persons that really pushed them to go into work but just that back just this morning i was talking to the hr as you said it doesn't appear that anyway i know that i'm still trying to work on that um the request that that you 0:34:29 Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified. VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 4 of 9 Casino Control Commission (VICCC) · VICCC Quarterly Hearing and Meeting No 003 2024 0911 made with regard like i said the commission made a request to the the chairman of the senate and also the joint request chairman and the finance committee chair requesting 10 percent funding from the casino revenue fund that's something that i have been asking for over 10 years or 15 years i should say and um the request that the letter was sent i so i saw i submitted a support letter which i sent over to have the the Attorney General signed in support of the request from the Commission. So we're hoping that that might be our support. I also, I called and I am, I am awaiting a confirmation for date to meet with the Chairman of the Senate again to plead my case with regard to that request. I was told by the Secretary that he's looking at a time that's convenient for him when he's telling this is open, so I will meet with him to plead that case. think at this point in time that might be the last resort because since the upper fund is dried up i don't think we're going anywhere with that but i'm still trying i know you're trying and um it's going to help us tremendously if we can move and even if we get one two whatever we get that will help us tremendously have you been invited to the um airing coming up for culture youth, sports, parks, recreation. 0:36:07 Yeah, because you know, one of the things that someone, when you're talking about the sports, there's a combination, I guess. DGE is. Yeah, because you know, one of the things that someone, when you're talking about the sports, there's a combination, I guess. about the sports. There's a combination, I guess. DGE is forgotten in most instances because the focus is whether the commission is the one that regulates it, and DGE is on the Justice Department. So when Justice Department is everything else, this is not, this is not a major concern regarding Justice Department. So that's had been a problem for you. 0:36:58 it's okay okay thank you sir thank you very much no problem so now we'll move on to the new business portion of our which is item number six this is the approval of the essential resolution number 006-2024 motion yes mr chair if i may i move that the commission approved licensure resolution number 006 of 2024 a resolution to approve the statements of compliance and casino employee and casino servicing entity licenses it was approved by the executive meeting held on august 27th 2224 here at the commission's um offices in saint glory i so move Thank you Madam Vice-Chair, we are here a second. 0:37:39 Mr. Chairman, I move to approve the licensure resolution number 006-3024 as was approved at the Executive Meeting of July 27-3024. thank you commissioner renee the motion to approve the licensure resolution number 006-2024 has been moved and a commission on themselves hearing no objections the motion to approve the licensure resolution number 06 as 3034 is hereby adopted which brings us to item number seven the agenda and uh which is carver hotel casino uh update on the plans in the step forward for responsible game education month which is is this month September responsible education month is sponsored by the American Gaming Association uh it's recognized every uh September in an effort to promote responsible gaming we've asked our industry partners to uh join the effort to um uh joining the efforts to for for our gem as it's called and we've asked both the seamers to feature their plans uh 0:38:47 so we have uh mr schiefer mr ted schiefer she's the chief operator officer that is correct yes and general manager was received a question good morning good morning good morning all it is a pleasure to discuss our role in spreading awareness for any campaign whether it be problem gambling or responsible gaming today i will discuss what the travel Hotel and Casino is currently doing and will continue to do to aid in the campaign for responsible gaming education month keeping in line with our campaign efforts for problem gambling awareness month we at the Caravella Hotel and Casino will not only keep our community informed about responsible gaming but we will also encourage them to bet responsibly remind them to set a budget and stick to it remind them to keep gambling social to learn the games they play and make sure that they are always playing legally we started off the month of september by updating all of our posters brochures and digital displays which includes all of our slot machines on our casino floor um which are now flashing web banners and trademark signage and posters for responsible gaming education month all of our social media platforms and our webpage were also updated to include our version of responsible of the responsible gaming education month newsletter along with the rg em 24 posters and web banners on september 1st our responsible gaming education month newsletter was sent out via email to all of our value recovery awards of 0:40:40 members as well as the commissioners and other key members of the vi casino control commission you guys received it and the Division of Game and Enforcement um responsible game and education wants information web banners and posters are affixed to all of our outgoing emails to our Carvel Rewards Club members on September 3rd our radio ad with WJKC Communications was updated to encourage our listening audience to always quote unquote better responsibly and to take a break and seek help when gambling is no longer a fun and entertaining activity. 0:42:37 On September 6, we launched the first responsible gaming education trivia question to our employees. Yesterday at 2 PM, Mr. Schaefer, Ms. Robles, our HR generalist, and I were able to attend the webinar about RG 24-7 virtual training. We were granted temporary access last night. And I have now got the green light that we will go ahead and utilize this 0:43:17 Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified. VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 5 of 9 Casino Control Commission (VICCC) · VICCC Quarterly Hearing and Meeting No 003 2024 0911 training and provide that to our employees. At 4pm this afternoon, responsible gaming education trivia, a crossword puzzle, will be launched on our Facebook page. We pride ourselves in finding unique ways to spread information about pertinent topics to our employees, patrons and followers. we do have a copy of this uh crossword puzzle available if any of you would like to try um claude frederick bastia french economist writer and prominent member of the french liberal school once said repetition may not entertain but it teaches the carabelle botana casino will continue to provide responsible gaming information to our employees patrons and followers throughout the month of september and the remainder of the year as always we would like to thank you for this opportunity to share what we are doing to spread awareness and appreciate the responsible game and education resources provided by the virgin islands casino control commission thank you very much colleagues any questions or comments from mrs rossum Oh, I'm glad Ms. Ross had been taking me on the spot, and I will take a copy of Ms. Ross. 0:44:02 Yeah, we have it for all months. I'm just impressed, just impressed, and we were there yesterday, and we did see your posters, your responsibility, large posters. that that is my comment to you and to the team at caravan thank you thank you commissioner just like to commend you yesterday asked several of the rest of the commissioners we're pleased to see the size of your business so prominent in this and i think you're doing quite a bit responsible here we appreciate it thank you and i might add and we have seen how your your banner on your machines that is scrolling or whatever the term is and i think that's like you say repetition and you get you will get it you will understand yes and i joined my colleagues uh you know i'm in for your efforts you know we know that you know gaming is your business you know for both of them you know and uh uh problem gaming is uh is is limited to a feeling uh people that may have those issues you know um in the um and that's what you know that's really that that's that's your game i mean that's your business you know you want it to gain you know but you want it to do so responsibly and um thank you for the efforts that regard now uh commissioner we have we have uh some uh merch well for both casinos both dv and carabelle as part of our contribution to responsible gaming 0:45:16 education just as we did last year each of you will give each of you a packet of giveaways for you to use you know for um your employees the patrons whoever yes march march is boxed and ready for you at the conclusion of this hearing today great with our logo of course our information and with our to be as you're going to see our new um our new messaging Thank you so much. 0:47:09 uh we have uh from uh uh miss the statement but i'm here for any questions and um Good morning, commissioners, staff, colleagues, my name is Anton Capers. General Manager for Divi Green Bay Casino. Thank you very much for the opportunity to update the Commission on some of the improvements that have been made to our establishment over the past year and for the opportunity to talk about Responsible Gaming and how we as a company are addressing Responsible Gaming Month. For many months we've been challenged with leaks in our roof at the casino and while it may seem like a simple thing to fix a leak with a flat roof it has certainly been anything but several times we thought that we had a solution only to have a heavy rain and discover that what we thought we had fixed only created a leak somewhere else i'm very happy to report that we now have all the package ac units replaced We took delivery of the last package unit in August, and all have now been installed. Up until late yesterday afternoon, I was feeling very good about our progress and thought that we had our leak situation resolved. Unfortunately, last night, we had a flash flood, way more water than we have seen recently, and experienced some water intrusion in a few areas upstairs, but what happened downstairs was much worse. 0:48:11 worse the the roof the areas in the roof where we were having our leaks before helped that's the very good news where we replaced the air conditioners and those leaks that were close to the Commission's office in the food and beverage office and whatnot none of that leaked that was all good but downstairs we have a little problem that we need to investigate and figure out how to mitigate. Our building is 25 years old, and with that comes constant maintenance, particularly with our proximity to the ocean. Supply chain has been a particular challenge, so we've been proactive and have two more packaged AC units in production and on their way to us before we even have a need for them so we're going to have those sitting on the ground before we even need new new units moving on to the Divi residences project this is moving forward but slowly um we have one full full building in place with the footings already pulled for the next building unfortunately there's been a delay in getting access to the property where the rest of the buildings are the other two buildings that are due to come there's been a delay in us getting access I can elaborate more offline if if you would like me to on that um we are however confident that that should be resolved soon and we can continue with the project I don't want to commit to a specific timeline as in themes that had every turn the timelines that we've been given have have slipped that there have been challenges along the way from the very inception of this project we are however fully committed to getting this completed as soon as possible it is in our 0:50:30 Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified. VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 6 of 9 Casino Control Commission (VICCC) · VICCC Quarterly Hearing and Meeting No 003 2024 0911 best interest to have it done as soon as possible and we really really do want to get it done when completed there will be 90 individual one bed one bath units available for use Moving on to Responsible Gaming, we have a very robust program in place this year. This includes, but is not limited to, a letter to all our guests that is posted in prominent places in the casino, outlining strategies to ensure that the gaming experience with us remains fun and entertaining. 0:52:38 A copy of this and the full plan is in a packet that I've brought for you. I believe I'll give it to the executive director so you have a copy. We also have a month-long program for our employees wherein their pre-ship briefings. We'll be covering different aspects each week. These will include empowering customers to play responsibly, legal regulated gaming protects players, and building a responsible gaming culture. In addition to this, we will feature Responsible Gaming Everly on our website and in our social media posts. Thank you. That concludes my testimony. 0:53:14 Thank you so much, Mr. Cooper. I will thank you for your responsible education efforts. Regarding the residence project, we visited the site yesterday and we saw the progress that you have made And we can speak, you know, like you said, speak offline about the issues that you're having in regards to the additional units. 0:53:58 Any questions, Colleague, on those two issues? the one we're about to do uh now um the concept of the the dv residence i mean it's a i think it's a really great concept and for though those employees have a place to live them right there they can just do their work site and how did the gentleman at the work site he explains everything to me my understanding how the place just looks like it once you get it done it will be a nice sell i think will be uh an incentive for us to say yes you know what i i can go up and be employed i'm right there with everything being provided to me when i left when we left the establishment yesterday it was raining heavily i didn't see any rain water coming driving down i'm so pleased that we didn't see any rain when i saw those pictures this morning i'm wondering are these new leaks yes so where did we before i don't know what pictures you've seen i don't know what pictures you've seen okay well uh okay um uh go ahead you just like this is a new yes all that stuff happening downstairs is it is new in terms of problem gambling whatever the electricity is a larger poster You have a very nice blackboard or poster wall or something, and the little poster place doesn't seem to be, people can read it from a distance. 0:54:50 I would like to see a bigger one. Let me talk, you find a wall that you have, that you have it on. Okay, something you would look into. Sure. I don't know if you noticed posters on the Beachcombers Club, those large ones it was raining when we were there yesterday we didn't have a week oh no no i i i wanted to to to to elaborate a little uh on the uh rgm efforts uh where in the where exactly in the casino have you uh placing these these uh these posters we know we saw we saw them on the elevator elevator the beach commerce club and the casino cage but when i say a poster they were eight by ten standard then we did not say anything okay as you walk in as you walk in yeah they were on the glass okay but if you're not seeing them that means others aren't sorry yeah if you're having trouble seeing them that's an issue we saw uh an eight by ten on the elevator and then by the security podium where you just have bingo or something there there was again at just like eight by ten in the middle of this white large and i think that's a good point if we didn't see them yeah who else is essential okay to get back to the um of condition this is this is this is something that's not new to us 0:56:56 uh we've gone back as far as i call but we really started to pay attention to this um uh more serious as far back as april of 2023 and you know we are isolated from the community you know we live in this community and we'll get the complex right and um i appreciate the things that you said earlier the issues that that you've been having you know regard to supply chain issues and uh you know other uh roadblocks that may not come in coming your way but the commission is very very concerned and i was you know i was encouraged yesterday when i heard uh when speaking with ms vines that um of your plans you know to do some um um to do some improvements you know under the carpet which has been uh brought to our attention as well by all employees and uh uh members of the public that um what happens you know when when it rains and uh to that end I want to share these uh these uh videos with you uh because when when I saw those last night. It kind of dampened me, no pun intended, my search. So Mr. Damala, uh i'll share these with um these videos with professional people 0:58:50 we had uh back in august i think was august uh 22nd inspectors mrs darcher that's receiving this is the uh the the dining the dining area this is the casino board that's the bar that's the bar here okay yes now water's coming down right next this this feature here uh because there's a there's a container that's catching the water I can see it here. 1:00:47 That's downstairs. And as I understand it, there was splash flooding last night, and this is the first time we've had something like this happen. It may be the way the residents are affecting our drainage. That's something we talked about this morning is we need to have someone come out and check. Is there something we can use the climate drainage for the you know, because maybe it's the way the residents are being built that that could be affected the drainage down on that first floor. 1:02:25 Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified. VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 7 of 9 Casino Control Commission (VICCC) · VICCC Quarterly Hearing and Meeting No 003 2024 0911 This area is wood. It's downstairs as well. Yes. Well, is that are those containers on top of a desk table? Yes. So is water coming in from the... So this is downstairs underneath. Yeah. And it's coming through the wall. So we're subterranean down there in that office, and it's coming through the wall, through a pipe in the wall. So, this is a really fixing problem for the Commission, because, like I said, it's been going on for a while, you know, that only should affect your patrons, your employees, your child employees, what, what, what, tell us, what is the, what is the concrete plan, you know, I know, this this uh issue with the downstairs as you just said is something something that you know what what what kind of effort is is is being is being made now we've had discussion going back to to uh april of last year where you know we we uh actually to report uh on a by monthly basis of the progress being made and you haven't you know you have been complied with that but you know um where are we where are we okay commissioner it it's not such an easy thing as just saying fix it huge efforts are being made tens of thousands of dollars have been spent 1:03:16 last night was an unusual event you were there in the afternoon you were there yesterday and it was fine it's been fine but when you have huge amounts of water like that stuff like that happens in your very own report today you were talking about leaps in your building yeah so i'm not saying same with me fix with it okay well i'd like i get to dive in here um this isn't a matter of not wanting to spend money i think you've seen from our reports the amount of visits we've had from the con pressure the amount of attempts to cure the leaks to the extent where we said well let's just buy all new hvac units in case some of those were causing the leaks because of some rusting uh this isn't a matter of gosh let's save money and not address this problem we've thrown money many time and energy at every single league um it's whack-a-mole right now you get one leaf fixed and we're celebrating it or three weeks fix and then a new leak happens and we've had new roof um liner put on and it is an older building um but we are tackling every single thing as we learn of it and as it comes up i don't want you to think this is us turning a blind eye and saying wow we could spend a hundred thousand dollars but let's save that money and see if we could just stick some gum in a hole it we really are anything that the contractors are saying to us were attempting like they said it could be the air conditioning units might be like okay it could be well let's get the air conditioning units we truly are throwing everything at it that we're being advised the price of recommended um this isn't a blind eye i mean last night we just wonder 1:05:27 like when he advised me of what happened last night i mean really both of us were just so disappointed disheartened um i just want you to know there's a true commitment to fixing this uh and i think you can see from the repair mills and the visits from contractors and everything else we really are paying attention to it and trying this out at the epilepsy our largest casino there built in 1969 that building we have similar situations every single storm and we have a hurricane coming in on us right now um and i can tell you they're covering soft machines in areas where they haven't we we pay contractors a fortune to come trying to fix the leaks and there are there are buildings that it's whack-a-mole like well they think they traced the leak over here coming down some pipe um and they think they fixed that and then they say no it's somewhere else so it it's it's a challenge and really all of our properties we have these kinds of things because we're in really heavy storm areas a lot uh uh and i appreciate you know what what what you both have even said but do you see an end in sight well i'm an optimist so i always think the next cure is the cure that's going to do it all like i said last night a brand new situation arise and the first thing says okay then we need an engineer to come and tell us if they can figure it we need someone to investigate that wall or or how it's coming in this isn't a bunch of in-house people trying to figure out a solution we really are hiring outside professionals to give us advice um and they they're confused as well at different times to say i don't know that this will fix it this might be a recommendation and so we try it um but uh yeah i'm an optimist and i think there's always an end in sight and there's always a sunnier day tomorrow um right now i don't have that because we have a new issue that grows so 1:07:23 yeah um you know in your in your reports to us you know you indicate that uh well that's yesterday that um that uh there were no leaks um but that's that's that's that's uh it's on board You know, when I look at, you know, we have, we have a responsibility at the commission, you know, we have to, you know, we know we regulate the industry, but which is of concern to not only the patrons, but your employees are out and um it it it just cannot just cannot continue like this it it it can you know it has to be an insight uh anyway um colleagues you have any questions for uh dv or comments regarding okay we wanna again you know thank you we gonna you you all gonna continue in your reporting efforts uh to us but you know you know the commission has to make uh uh some kind of a decision um and what further we can do to to to have you to have you leverage my recognition 1:09:41 um thank you very much we thank you uh i i let me give you an opportunity if you want to add anything to that um you know if my daughter said please please do it thank you thank you so much okay so So, we are going to move on to the next item on the agenda, which is, as in mind, any other business. 1:11:33 We do have other business, and as mentioned here earlier today, this is responsible for gaming education month back in march it was a problem the as i mentioned before the commission realizes that most people game and gamble responsibly 1:12:26 Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified. VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 8 of 9 Casino Control Commission (VICCC) · VICCC Quarterly Hearing and Meeting No 003 2024 0911 but there is that a certain segment that has The Commission is mandated by law to have our programs to treat and prevent gambling addiction. uh as commissioner of the show uh and we do have uh we did join the efforts uh by you know uh uh promoting uh gambling awareness joining you in in uh you know all participation in uh uh getting the word out so to speak we have began an effort to address which is a lot of business and to that effort we engaged we engaged a marketing firm to develop our website for us uh we will have a uh uh soft launch on that website very shortly but commissioner herman pissell has been leading that effort i'm gonna ask her to she wants to speak uh more more on that and what we're doing with the launch this this uh website uh thank you chair uh well we've got the stage for it i think we can just go ahead and show you what the website consists of um the title of our uh campaign is playwise bi and this website will take um us to mission there we go and we just like to show you the soft launch get your feedback our mission statement as set forth in this website is the virgin honest casino control commission is committed to raising our committee's community's awareness about problem 1:13:24 gambling by promoting responsible gaming and informing of the free confidential and other resources available to those experienced gambling disorders and seeking help so the website will have a definition of what problem gambling is it could take self-assessments it will answer a question it will lead you to resources right now the resource with direct would be directing forces to is the 1 800 number and what's coming out of the national uh council problem gambling we hope to have um bi um base resources soon that moa mou is still in work with department of health we met last week i think we'll soon be coming to an end with that and we'll be able to have them say counselors are on ireland trained um in problem gambling and problem gambling disorders it's going to have a voluntary exclusion form and just different tabs where it can be anyone um interested in the problem or may need to have help with that problem come to the website if it's there is a tab it's you see provides it will be English Spanish and French for your three um you know um major languages in our community here when you click on it it will convert I mean I just think that's amazing it can do that um or we have the ability to do that and think um it has been a real effort of the commission commissioners and the staff to develop and get this information out and to use the monies that the commission is allotted and has a legal mandate to um address problem gambling even if it's one person i think we all agree that's one person too many because that one person the ripple effects found me in friends and i might add that um 1:15:17 the this is a territory-wide effort we are we have jurisdiction as far as casino uh uh gaming regulation here on st croix but again as i mentioned earlier we gave this community whether it's here on st croix or in st thomas and you know that there's a lot of gaming activity uh taking place um uh throughout the islands um a lot of it uh particularly in the other district you know uh uh well not a lot you know there is a substantial amount of illegal gaming activity going on i mentioned this uh the financial statistics this morning in our report you know uh that the legal gaming community the revenues and and um that's generated from the legal gaming activity uh and that legal activity generates more revenues for the for the and if you cause our gambling harm as well you know so we have we are not limiting this uh this awareness program to justin corey it is territory-wide and as the commissioner from the cell dimension uh we are working with the uh department of health or we'll get that uh uh mou and way executed shortly with training of uh governor of victory counselors and we have those counselors available uh both on St. Croix and in the St. Thomas St. John District so uh take a look at uh our website we will have a public uh uh release a press release you know when this release is launched and please feel free to to offer um your comments your suggestions recommendations uh to us once this uh goes live and we're hoping uh that you could um uh join us 1:17:43 uh in this in this passage of course right and it's not going to be limited to the website you start to see signage you start to see a absolutely involved in the committee and different things uh fair festival st thomas you know whatever is happening in st thomas that we can find but after we get that message out we want everyone to know their limit and affect responsibly thank you and and when uh once we have uh developed these uh promotional uh materials you know we are asking our industry partners to join us with placement uh in appropriate places on the property um uh to help us bring awareness to this issue you know in the um in the being that you know you're in the business of gaming you know in my private life uh in the wrong industry we had a saying that we don't want people drinking more we want no people drinking okay so and uh we should have your business as well so we um we will hopefully join us okay thank you so much Thank you so much. So this brings us to the last item on the agenda, which is the adjournment. 1:19:51 I will adjourn. I want to thank you for being here today. i want to thank our staff uh as always for the efforts in putting these uh these meetings are here together i want to say thank you thank you all uh having nothing further this uh for the meeting of September 11, 2024 is hereby adjourned. 1:21:42 Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified. VI Update · usvipublicrecords.com · public record, no rights asserted (CC0 1.0) 9 of 9