HARRISBURG -- The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board hopes to issue up to 23 licenses for slot machine suppliers by June 15, and then move on to an even bigger matter -- awarding as many as six racetrack/casino licenses by Sept. 15.

That was the word today from Tad Decker, a Philadelphia lawyer who chairs the seven-member panel overseeing the implementation of slots gaming in the state.

State police have "substantially completed" background checks on 13 of the applicants for slots supplier licenses, and Mr. Decker expects the rest of the investigations to be done by June 1. That will give the board a couple weeks to study the background checks before deciding which applicants get supplier licenses.

No licenses can be granted until state police have completed criminal background checks of the key officials and employees of the 23 would-be suppliers, to make sure there are no associations with organized crime or other things that would make the firms unsuitable to do business in Pennsylvania.

The 2004 slots law says that after the supplier licenses are issued, at least 90 days must elapse before the racetrack/casino licenses are issued. That's to give the suppliers time to get up and running.

(See tomorrow's Post-Gazette for more details)