HARRISBURG -- State Gaming Control Board Chairwoman Mary D. Colins said she didn't feel "intimidated or threatened" by a 60-second phone call from state Rep. Dwight Evans, who stressed the importance of continued black ownership in a planned Pittsburgh casino.

Speaking to a Senate panel yesterday, Ms. Colins said that in a July 14 phone call, Mr. Evans, a powerful Philadelphia Democrat who chairs the House Appropriations Committee, briefly discussed with her the pending change in ownership of the Pittsburgh casino.

If the gaming board approves, Chicago billionaire Neil Bluhm and a group called Walton Street Capital Partners will take over the Pittsburgh slots license from Don Barden, to whom the board awarded it in December 2006. Mr. Barden is black, as is Mr. Evans.

"Mr. Evans ... explained that the Legislature, when it enacted this [casino] statute, believed in the importance of diversity in gaming, that he supported diversity in ownership and the [Pittsburgh] project, and he wanted to make sure that Mr. Barden was treated fairly in this process," Ms. Colins said. "I thanked him for the call and hung up. The call was very brief, lasting about a minute."

Sen. Jane Earll, R-Erie, chairwoman of the Senate committee that oversees gaming, asked if Ms. Colins considered the Evans call as threatening or intimidating, since Mr. Evans leads the House Appropriations Committee, which has great influence on how much money each state agency receives each year.

"Mr. Evans isn't just any legislator," Ms. Earll said. She also noted that the gaming law forbids people from having private communications with board members, because they decide who gets slots licenses. Ms. Earll suggested that Ms. Colins might need to recuse herself from the decision on the license transfer because of the phone conversation with Mr. Evans.

Ms. Colins said she is still considering whether to "recuse" herself. Whatever she does, it will be based on an independent, well-thought-out course of action, she said.

She said that Mr. Evans, along with several other legislators, including Sens. Jim Ferlo, Jay Costa, Wayne Fontana and Reps. Jake Wheatley and Joe Preston, along with Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, had also written letters to the board about the Pittsburgh casino situation. Ms. Colins said she regarded the Evans phone call as similar to the letters -- legislators doing their job to speak for their constituents and interests.

Jeffrey Coy of Shippensburg, a former House Democrat who also is a Gaming Board member, also got a phone call from Mr. Evans about the Pittsburgh casino situation. Mr. Coy also said he didn't feel improperly influenced, since Mr. Evans simply repeated during the call what he had previously put into writing.

Johnna Pro, an Evans aide, said there was nothing wrong with Mr. Evans expressing himself to the two board members.