In Pennsylvania and a Juniata County franchise of the Rutter’s convenience store chain has reportedly become the first venue of its type to be granted permission to operate up to five slot-style video gaming terminals.

Rutter’s requests:

According to a Saturday report from the Associated Press news service published by US News and World Report, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board awarded this inaugural license on Wednesday and is in the process of accessing similar applications from some 19 other Rutter’s outlets located across the eastern state.

Strict specifications:

Under legislation signed into law by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf in late-October of 2017, the coming machines will only reportedly be permitted to accept cash wagers with a $5 ceiling while offering players maximum prizes of up to $1,000. The slot-like games will also purportedly be required to utilize random number generator technologies and ensure a minimum return-to-player rate of 85%.

Highway location:

The report from the Associated Press detailed that the newly-licensed Rutter’s venue sits at the junction of the William Penn Highway and Pennsylvania Route 75 around two miles south of the small community of Mifflintown. But, the location is moreover purportedly less than a mile from US Route 322, which is a major thoroughfare that runs some 494 miles between Cleveland, Ohio, and Atlantic City, New Jersey, and serves as a popular destination for truck drivers looking to stop for fuel and food.

Pending eligibility:

Doug Harbach from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board reportedly detailed that this particular Rutter’s outlet had received its gambling license because it was the first to have completed an official review. He purportedly declared that the other 19 locations remain under consideration and ‘may need to address some issues’ before being granted similar authorizations.

Harbach stated…

“If remedied, they may eventually be recommended to the [Pennsylvania Gaming Control] Board for approval or, if they are not able to remedy in order to qualify under the guidelines of the act, then they may be recommended for denial. We are moving on them as quickly as our staffing will permit.”

Targeting truckers:

Rutter’s is responsible for approximately 70 stores in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Maryland and believes around 23 of these are suited to take advantage of the new truck stop gambling market. But, company spokesperson Pam Baldwin purportedly proclaimed that such venues are generally newer outlets that have been built near major highways in order to cater to the needs of truckers.

Baldwin said…

“They’re completely different than the Rutter’s down at the corner. We don’t call them truck stops but that’s what they are designed to be.”