From The Star Staff
Operators of video gaming machines are organizing a large demonstration coinciding with the inauguration ceremony of governor-elect Jenniffer González Colón, as announced on Wednesday.
These operators are demanding the resignation of Juan Carlos Santaella Marchán, the Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Gaming Commission.
Aníbal Villafañe Fernández, the representative for video game machine operators in Puerto Rico’s northern region, urged González Colón and her campaign head, Francisco Domenech, to intervene to thwart the actions of the Gaming Commission and the Horse Racing Board, which intend to raise the number of slot machines for the Camarero Racetrack’s horse racing agencies to 15, stating that these agencies contribute nothing to the island’s Treasury. Failing this, Villafañe Fernández warned that over 1,500 gaming machine operators, including their families and clients, will gather for a protest on inauguration day, Jan. 2, in front of the Capitol.
Villafañe Fernández reiterated the demand for Santaella Marchán’s resignation, asserting that he “is clearly facilitating connections with the management of Camarero Racetrack, conducting public hearings to endorse nearly 5,000 new terminals for the installation of additional slot machines at horse racing agencies, which do not pay taxes to the Treasury Department.”
“Furthermore, his appointment to any government position should never be entertained,” he concluded.
