HARRISBURG -- State Gaming Control Board officials say they are providing information requested by a state grand jury that is believed to be looking into how the Pittsburgh casino license was awarded by the board in late 2006.

The investigation is being led by Attorney General Tom Corbett. The grand jury is based on Pittsburgh, one of three grand juries Mr. Corbett has in operation around the state.

"This agency, to date, has been cooperating in all respects with the attorney general's requests" for data, gaming board spokesman Doug Harbach said today. He said Mr. Corbett has asked the board "not to comment on the particulars of his ongoing investigation."

Kevin Harley, a spokesman for the attorney general's office, declined to confirm or deny the existence of an investigation.

Mr. Harbach said that in the board's "ongoing spirit of cooperation and transparency, we have made available a significant number of documents created by the board's staff in the course of our business of investigating applicants for gaming licenses."

Gov. Ed Rendell said today he is positive the grand jury won't find anything improper or political in the way the slots licenses were awarded.

As for investigating how the board decided who would get the lucrative licenses, he said the state grand jury "should get in line," because "the FBI, the U.S. attorney and everybody under the sun" had already looked at it and found nothing wrong.

"The Gaming Control Board did a solid job" in deciding who would get licenses for racetrack/casinos and stand-alone casinos, such as the one in Pittsburgh, he said. "There was not any political influence."

There has been considerable controversy over the board's decision in December 2006 to award the Pittsburgh slots license to Detroit businessman Don Barden, who ultimately was unable to develop sufficient financing to complete the $425 million casino on the North Shore. Mr. Barden was chosen over two competing applicants, one of whom wanted to put the casino at Station Square and the other who had a site in the lower Hill District.

In 2008 Mr. Barden brought in additional investors, led by Chicago businessman Neil Bluhm, whose family is also involved in the not-yet-opened SugarHouse casino in Philadelphia, to provide additional capital. The Rivers Casino finally opened in Pittsburgh in August.

Three of the board's seven members were named by Gov. Ed Rendell. One of his original appointees, Sanford Rivers of Pittsburgh, recently left the board after his term expired, and he must be replaced. The other four members are named by the Republican and Democratic leaders of the state House and Senate.

In light of Mr. Barden's inability to generate enough money to complete the casino, questions have arisen over the past few months about what factors led up to the board's December 2006 decision to award him the slots license and whether it looked into his financial background sufficiently.

The board and Mr. Barden have said the national economic recession that struck in mid-2007 played a large role in his financial problems and said he shouldn't be blamed for that. The board has defended its background investigation procedures used in awarding the licenses.

There also have been questions raised about the license awarded to Louis DeNaples for the Mt. Airy casino in the Poconos. Mr. DeNaples had been charged with misleading gaming officials about his relationship with known organized crime figures to get his license, but the charges were dropped in exchange for casino ownership being transferred to his daughter.

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