Delco man named to Gaming Control Board

With critical decisions affecting the future of gambling in Philadelphia on the horizon, Gov. Corbett has appointed to the Gaming Control Board a new commissioner who is a well-known legislative aide and former Exelon Corp. executive.

David W. Woods of Delaware County will replace James Ginty, who was appointed by Gov. Ed Rendell and is completing his second three-year term.

Woods is chief of staff for Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, whose district includes parts of Delaware and Chester Counties.

Woods was not available for comment because he is undergoing a routine background check with state police, Erik Arneson, a spokesman for Pileggi, said Wednesday.

The process could take a few weeks, said Richard McGarvey, a spokesman for the board.

If approved, Woods would join the board in time for a series of hearings on the six groups vying for the second gaming license reserved for Philadelphia. The "suitability" hearings are expected to begin late this year, with a decision early next year, McGarvey said.

Of the seven commissioners, three are appointed by the governor and four by the legislature, for a maximum of two terms. The annual salary is $145,000.

Woods' "public- and private-sector experience make him well qualified for the Gaming Control Board," Corbett said in a statement.

When Pennsylvania legalized gaming in 2004, it set aside two licenses for Philadelphia. The SugarHouse Casino opened in 2010, but the Gaming Board revoked the license of the Foxwoods Casino project because of repeated delays.

Woods joined Pileggi's staff in 2006. Before to that, he was senior vice president of Exelon and its subsidiary Peco. From 1979 to 1998, Woods was chief of staff for Sen. F. Joseph Loeper, an Upper Darby Republican, who resigned in 2000 after pleading guilty to falsifying tax documents.

Woods would become the second commissioner from the Philadelphia area. The board's chairman, William H. Ryan Jr., also lives in Delaware County.