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Wednesday, December 3, 2014

2015 will be here soon, are you ready to file your 2014 SGOC activity ?

We thought this would be a perfect time to re-post BLCE Officer Todd Merlina's presentation from February 12, 2014.  You will find this video to be very informative.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIHd4rE-b6k

If you are one of our current customers or business partners please signup and/or login to our Sienna SGOC Insiders only forum.  We posted some very important and informative information over the last several weeks.  This weeks post includes an SDS End of Year checklist, we strongly recommend our customers read the post.

Resources:
Youtube site shown above
Published on Feb 27, 2014
Todd Merlina is an Enforcement Supervisor with the Pennsylvania State Police, Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement. He provided this training on the PA Small Games of Chance laws and regulations on February 12, 2014 at the Cardinal Keeler Center, Harrisburg. This training is to help individuals be more aware of illegal gambling and to understand how to conduct games of chance for the purpose of raising funds legally. More information is available at www.Lce.state.pa.us






Monday, November 24, 2014

PA SGOC Electronic Filing begins in approx. 7 weeks

A few important announcements for our valued customers and business partners…

You Must be on Release 4.11 or Greater
In roughly 40 days SGOC Licensee’s that made more than $20,000 in net proceeds in 2014 MUST file electronically with the PA Department of Revenue. To file electronically with your Sienna System, make sure that your system is on Release 4.11 or greater.  If your are not on 4.11 or greater please email us at support@myersintsystems.com and we will contact you and schedule a day/time to upgrade your system.

Take Advantage of our Insiders Only Forum
We suggest that our current customers and business partners sign up for our Insiders Only Forum. In the Forum you will find exclusive information on developments in Pennsylvania Small Games. Shoot us an email with your Organization and Contact Info to support@myersintsystems.com.

A Message from the Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement
We have been asked by the Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement to inform our readers that “Pulltab Parties” and “Ticket Parties” are illegal


Monday, November 17, 2014

Forming a Strategy to Comply with the Small Games of Chance Law

Since 2012, Pennsylvania has passed 3 laws that substantially changed the requirements for running a successful gaming business in Pennsylvania. Most Organizations in PA survive because of the revenue brought in from Pull-tabs and other games of chance. The frequent changes made to the Small Games of Chance Law threaten this vital revenue, and thus threatens the existence of not only the Organizations, but the Charities whose survival is dependent on donations from these Organizations. 

HOWEVER, THESE CHANGES SHOULD NOT BE AN OBSTACLE TO RUNNING A SUCCESSFUL BAR AND GAMING BUSINESS.

How can your Organization grow its business in such confusing times?

A successful strategy for an Organization MUST cover the following:

1.      Bartenders that sell the tickets, payout winners, and sell food & beverages

2.      Managers that account for daily food & beverage and gaming business

3.      Compliance with ever-changing laws

4.      Retraining new Bartenders, Managers, Trustees/Board Members

1.      Bartenders: Running a successful business in this environment starts with your Bartenders. A good strategy will track each ticket sold by your Bartenders, and every payout made to winning customers. Implementing a good strategy will allow for the Manager to more easily account for the tickets, remove any possibility for your Bartenders to steal money or cheat, and maximize the profit for each and every game put into play.
 
2.      Managers: Your Bar Manager must account for every sale and payout to do his/her job properly. To complicate things, PA Law requires your Organization to maintain up to 14 different records that specify games, winners, and times. Needless to say, your Bar Manager is up against SUBSTANTIAL & TIME CONSUMING HURDLES, not to mention the tremendous pressure from the potential consequences of poor record keeping. Heavy fines and suspension of your gaming license could spell disaster. A successful strategy will allow your Bar Manager to deal with these responsibilities in a time-effective, and stress-relieving manner.

3.      Compliance: With up to a year’s worth of gaming activity for you to input into the Department of Revenue’s e-filing website, and for the BLCE to possibly audit, the chances are greatly increased for fines or worse. Having your gaming records organized is crucial to your Organization’s survival.  If your Organization is audited, your i’s must be dotted and your t’s must be crossed. A successful strategy makes it easy to e-file with the Department of Revenue, and will make for a seamless audit if the BLCE or the Department come knocking. 

4.      Retraining: Organizations like yours see frequent turnover in personnel. Bartenders and Bar Managers come and go, while Trustees and Board Members are voted in and out. To maintain the survival of your Organization, you must insure continuity among ever-changing personnel. A successful strategy makes it easy for a new hire or Trustee to jump right into the system.  A system removes confusion and provides stability in a confusing environment.

Our Customers find all the benefits of having a cohesive approach to their Bar and Gambling business. Sienna, our Food & Beverage and Ticket Management Software, tracks every ticket sale and payout as well as every food & beverage sale made by your Bartenders, provides reports that take hours of work away from your Bar Manager, automatically fills out all reports required by Pennsylvania law, e-files with the Dept. of Revenue so that you don’t have to, and insures continuity in the management of your business, no matter how many of your employees and Trustees come and go.

Contact us today, we would be happy to give you a free demo of our Food & Beverage and Ticket Management system. By partnering with us, your Organization can thrive in difficult times.

 
Paul Jubas
Vice President
814-244-8115
pauljubas@myersintsystems.com
Myers Integrated Systems, LLC

Saturday, October 11, 2014

PA SGOC Myers Integrated Systems, LLC approved by State for second year in a row!

Although we have not yet received the official letter and we are not yet listed on the PA Department of Revenue's website, we have been told by the PA Department of the Revenue that we have been APPROVED for the 2nd year in a row to file 2014 SGOC Activity electronically on behalf of our customers.  We are the ONLY system that has EVER been approved to file Small Games of Chance Activity electronically.



All 70 plus users of the Sienna Database SGOC System will NOT have to Key 2014 SGOC Activity summarized by business week activity for each SGOC game into the PA Department of Revenue’s website.

Beginning January 2, 2015 (until January 31, 2015)
All PA Small Games Of Chance licensed organizations with net proceeds exceeding $20,000 for 2014 MUST enter the following into the States SGOC website – Unless they are using our Sienna Database SGOC System.  Myers Integrated Systems, LLC will file on your behalf so you will not need to enter your activity into the States website.

All of the organizations Small Games of Chance activity must be grouped by Game and by each of the organizations business week(s) for 2014.  Each of the Games Gross Revenue, Total Expenses, Total Prizes and finally Net proceeds for each business week must be tallied and summed and subsequently entered into the States website as required by law.

Example;  Pull-tab Games activity must be grouped by 52 business weeks in 2014 and all of the Gross revenue, Total Expenses, Total Prizes and Net proceeds for each business week for all pull-tab games that was taken out of play during the specific business week must be summed and entered into the States website.

The Drawing activity and the additional 6 Game activities will also need to be grouped/summarized as described above and entered as well.  If you did not have activity for any of the 8 Games for a business week you will not have to enter activity for that week in the States website.

Additionally, Organization(s) must then enter every Donation they made during 2014 including the date of the donation, the recipient of the donation and the amount. 

All Club Expenses for the year will need to be tallied and entered. 

Finally, if you are saving club expense money that was not used and is available (from the 40% in 2014) for a project in 2015 or beyond you will need to enter specific information regarding the project including the expected cost, the expected date of completion and the amount you are saving for the project.

Of course the Sienna Database Small Games of Chance System© is very easy to use will track and report to the PA Department of Revenue and will also produce ALL PA BLCE Schedules....and Much Much More!  Let the State and the BLCE know that you are serious about being accountable for your SGOC Activity by using the ONLY system Approved by the State.  Stay compliant and protect yourself with our easy to use comprehensive Game Tracking/Food and Beverage system...

The Sienna Database System© POS/SGOC Complete System


"Think Out of the Jar" with Myers Integrated Systems, LLC
www.myersintsystems.com
814.408.2158

Thursday, September 4, 2014

PA BLCE Small Games of Chance Website gets a new Look

The PA Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement (and the PA State Police) have been updated and seems friendlier and appears to be easier to navigate.

Check out the new look for yourself…





Don't forget there is only ONE Food and Beverage Point of Sale and Ticket Tracking, Recording and Reporting system that files electronically with the PA Department of Revenue AND Creates ALL of the PA BLCE Recommended Schedules!   The Sienna Database System! 
You can find us here:  www.myersintsystems.com
OR
email us at support@myersintsystems.com OR Call 844-GET-SGOC - (844) 438-7462
and Schedule a Demo of our system!


 
 
 

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

PA Small Games of Chance YouTube Video

Even though the presentation is in front of Catholic Church/Non Profit licensee's, I strongly suggest you at least listen to the presentation as Officer Todd Merlina does an excellent job explaining the recent law changes. 

Below is the video description posted with the YouTube video:

Published on Feb 27, 2014

Todd Merlina is an Enforcement Supervisor with the Pennsylvania State Police, Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement. He provided this training on the PA Small Games of Chance laws and regulations on February 12, 2014 at the Cardinal Keeler Center, Harrisburg. This training is to help individuals be more aware of illegal gambling and to understand how to conduct games of chance for the purpose of raising funds legally. More information is available at http://www.Lce.state.pa.us

You can find the YouTube video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIHd4rE-b6k


Note:
Customers and/or Business Partners of Myers Integrated Systems, LLC that registered to access our 'Insiders Only Forum' have known about the video above for several weeks.  


Thursday, July 31, 2014

PA Liquor Control Board lowers Tavern gaming license fee to $500

As expected, the PA LCB has lowered the Tavern gaming license fee from $2000 to $500.

Click here to read an article providing more details.







Resources:
http://triblive.com/news/adminpage/6531847-74/tavern-games-gaming?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A%20alltribstories%20(TribLIVE%20News)#axzz392enn6x1

Friday, July 25, 2014

PA Liquor Control Enforcement Bureau’s PowerPoint presentation Breakdown

Below are several excerpts from our review of the PA Liquor Control Enforcement Bureau’s latest PowerPoint presentation.   
                                                                                                     
If you are a current customer of any of our SDS family of software products you can register for access to our SDS Forum where you can read our comprehensive analysis of PA Small Games of Chance Laws and how it impacts you.  Our customers received an email last week letting them know they can register in our forum and begin reading our review of the BLCE’s PowerPoint. 

If you are one of our customers and you did NOT receive an email from us last week please email us at support@myersintsystems.com and supply your customer name and contact information.  Please reference SGOC Forum access in the subject line.

pasmallgamesofchance.blogspot.com

We will continue to post general updates regarding PA SGOC laws on this blog, however our in-depth analysis will be accessible only to our customers and partners. 

Myers Integrated Systems, LLC is the LONE PIONEER of the premier and most comprehensive PA Small Games of Chance Tracking, Recording and Reporting System and we are proud to now offer our Sienna Point of Sale System that has many features including tracking inventory, producing drink slips (instead of drink chips) with expiration dates (if you want) and many more features.  Our POS system is so easy to use you can literally start entering your products and inventory within 1 minute of logging into the system.

Our Insiders Only Forum is one of the many benefits of selecting the only Point of Sale/Small Games of Chance Tracking system ever approved by the PA Department of Revenue.


You can check out our website by clicking here.

Below our Excerpts of our BLCE's Powerpoint Breakdown from our Insiders Only Forum:







We strongly recommend you download and read the PowerPoint posted for yourself.  If you have questions regarding Pennsylvania Small Games of Chance laws call your local PA Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement office.   The PowerPoint can be found here.

~D. Kelly Myers
www.myersintsystems.com


Resources:
http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/hide_-_liquor_control_enforcement/5900/small_games_of_chance/501941

http://www.myersintsystems.com/forum.html


Friday, July 4, 2014

PA SGOC - Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement Posts Updated Interpretation

The Pennsylvania BLCE has posted their updated interpretation of the PA Small Games of Chance laws via a Small Games of Chance Charitable Organization PowerPoint Presentation file you can download.

You can download the pdf file by clicking on the link below;


We will be reviewing this updated PowerPoint/PDF and we will update this blog if there is anything new that the Bureau's Interpretation may identify that we have not already previously listed and/or addressed.

Hope you are all having a safe and fun 4th of July and spending time with your family and friends.

God Bless all of our current and past US military soldiers for our being able to celebrate our freedom.

Resources:









Friday, June 6, 2014

PA SGOC Tavern Gaming Legislation Proposals

If you have been reading this blog you would know that we predicted (as did many of you) that the PA Legislatures would be proposing legislation to make obtaining a Tavern Gaming license more attractive and a less complicated event for the thousands of eligible organizations that were originally expected to apply.

After reading an informative article from Steve Silver published on the Philadephia Business Journal website (see link below in the resource section), there is proposed legislation in place that is gaining support.

I suggest you read the article, however below I list the bullet points as it pertains to changes that will make obtaining a Tavern Gaming license more attractive:

·         Lowers Initial fee from $4,000 to $2,000 (which will include the cost of the license for the first year)

·         Removes the $1000 15 year FBI Background check

·         Changes owners profit from 35% to 45%

o   50% goes to State and 5% goes to local municipality

·         Separates a Gaming violation from Liquor Code Violation.  Having a gaming violation will no long impact Taverns Liquor License standing.

o   Gaming Violations will be fined and will lose their license after a 3rd violation.

 
PA HB1932

In addition to the Tavern Gaming License information in Mr. Silvers article you will find there is optimism regarding the eventual passing of HB1932.  HB1932 will allow regulated video gaming in liquor licensed establishments.  This would also legalize regulated electronic bingo, black jack and other games in liquor or brewed beverage licensed establishments.

Distributors and Manufacturers will have to $10,000 just for a license for the video games.  The vendors that sell to the distributors will have to pay a whopping $25,000 for the first 50 machines and an additional $500 per machine after 50.

Please read the article as there is additional information regarding the HB1932 legislation that I have not included in my summary above.

Blog writers note:
We will soon be opening up our Gaming Forum for our SDS SGOC customers.  The forum is a place where we will post Small Games of Chance and Charity Gaming details that will not be posted on this public Blog.  We will (on occasion) open part of the forum to specific guests.

If you are a current SDS SGOC customer and you would like access to our Gaming forum when it is available, please email us or contact us via our contact page and include your name and the Post and/or Fraternal organization that you are with and we will reply with a username and password for you to access our insiders-only Gaming forum when it becomes available. 


 

 

Resources:
http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/blog/guest-comment/2014/06/pennsylvania-tavern-gaming-may-make-a-comeback.html

Sunday, April 27, 2014

PA SGOC Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement Publishes updated Schedules


The PA BLCE published new and updated Schedules for all SGOC licensees. 

As of this blog post (April 27, 2014), The bottom of the PA BLCE SGOC page still has a message stating they are reviewing recent changes, however it appears they posted their interpretation and as previously reported in this blog, the PA BLCE interpretation is 'in-line' with the PA Department of Revenue's published interpretation.

What’s old?

You will want to ignore the last document listed on the site as it appears to be an older version of the Bureau’s interpretation.  The document references of $5000 max payout and keeping winners information for prizes $101.  These totals are no longer accurate.  The current total requirements are stated in the first pdf file listed which is the ‘Explanation of SGOC Schedules”.

Ignore this document;
 
 
What’s new?
The Schedule 3 description clearly states (as does the PA Dept. of Revenues) that licensees requirement for recording prizes in excess of $600.  I personally know of many organizations that are still recording the winners over $100.  Please note that you can continue to record the winners information for the over $100 winners if you wish, however the requirement is now greater than $600 so you do not have to keep winners information if it is not greater than $600.
    Schedule 3 description;




Schedule 8, Race Night Records





Ignore Schedule 7, Pools as it is not legal and will not be used;

Are there any organizations that are planning on having the Race Nights?  If so, please know you can only have 1 every calendar month. 

Of course our Sienna Database System will be modified to include the Schedule 8 Race Night. 

If you have any questions or comments or would like a demonstration of our Point of Sale and/or SDS Small Games of Chance Compliance systems please leave a comment and/or contact us at DKellyMyers@myersintsystems.com or call 1-844-GET-SGOC (1-844-438-7462).

Resources:
http://www.lce.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/hide_-_liquor_control_enforcement/5900/small_games_of_chance_schedules/501941






 
 

Saturday, April 19, 2014

PA Small Games of Chance


As of today – April 19, 2014 – The PA LCE Bureau has not yet published their interpretation of the recent PA Small Games of Chance Laws.  As mentioned in our last blog, I have been told by the Bureau that their interpretation will be in-line with the PA Department of Revenue’s interpretation. 

I imagine there will be at least one additional Schedule forthcoming (night at the races) so I would expect the Bureau to publish their interpretation or at least the new Schedule sometime (hopefully before the end of 2014).

This Blog’s Opinion:
We all know that the Governor Corbett is disappointed with the lack of Taverns applying for a Small Games of Chance license.  Don’t be surprised if we have another round of SGOC Law changes sometime in the future.  The next round will probably make obtaining a SGOC license for Taverns more attractive and probably also less of an effort to obtain.


SDS SGOC System update:
We recently updated our website to include our updated brochure and several  new SDS 3.0 “How to Videos”.  
 
May is less than 2 weeks away and Small Games of Chance Licensee’s in Pennsylvania that are not using our SDS 3.0 SGOC System will have 5 months of Gaming activity to enter into the system if they purchase the system in May (and more to enter if they purchase after May). 
 
The longer you go without the system the more game activity you will have to enter in order to file electronically with us by the February 1, 2015 deadline.   If you want to significantly shorten the amount of time you spend recording your gaming activity and reduce the over/short amount losses that you may be getting, contact us or call us to schedule a demonstration of our system.  
 
With the introduction of our SDS Core system there is no excuse for any organization to get fined or possibly lose your SGOC license for poor record keeping or insufficient records.  The SDS system provides you with the tools to easily and quickly enter your SGOC activity into the system.  After entering your activity you can produce ALL PA BLCE schedules AND we will report your 2014 SGOC Activity electronically with the PA Department of Revenue in early 2015 (you will not have to key in your activity into the states website).

We have published a list of some of our customers on our site, feel free to contact any of our customers and ask them if they like the system. 
Note:  Only customers that granted us permission to list them are listed on our site.

 
Have a Blessed and Happy Easter!
 
~D. Kelly Myers
 
PS.
Lets Go Pens!!
Lets Go Bucs!!

Monday, March 17, 2014

Luck running out for PA SGOC organizations involved with Shenanigans!


Happy St. Patrick’s Day!  May the luck of the Irish be upon you all (if you wish it to be).

As of today - March 17, 2014 – The PA LCE Bureau has not yet published their interpretation of the recent PA Small Games of Chance Laws.  I have been told by the Bureau that their interpretation will be in-line with the PA Department of Revenue’s interpretation.

The new Schedule(s) for the Racing Games is hopefully going to be included when the PA LCE Bureau publishes their interpretation on their website. http://www.lce.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/hide_-_liquor_control_enforcement/5900/small_games_of_chance/501941

Below is a short list of things we are finding as Posts/Lodges and other fraternal and social organizations inquire about our SDS SGOC system:

Usually the person responsible for keeping the records is the person that makes contact with us. 

This person usually tells us they need to ‘convince’ the Organizations Officers to purchase the system. 

·         The officers of the club that need to be convinced have almost never had to be responsible for keeping the records for SGOC.  They have no idea of the amount of work it takes to manually enter and re-enter data on to the different Schedules in addition to keeping track of the money, donations, deposits etc.  They do not realize that each game MUST be tracked, recorded and reported by serial number. 

·         Sometimes the officers that do not want the club to purchase the system have their own reason/purpose to not want to help the club be accountable for the SGOC Activity.  Their reason/purpose for not wanting to have the system in place may be because they may not be able to benefit from the SGOC activity as they have in the past.

Now that the PA LCE Bureau and the PA Department of Revenue will BOTH be enforcing the recording and reporting SGOC Laws (along with local Law Enforcement officials), you can be certain that any Organization that is not being accountable for their SGOC activity will eventually be caught.  In addition to requiring the organizations that have net proceeds over $20,000 to file electronically, the PA LCE Bureau and PA Department of Revenue will now arrest and prosecute people involved with inappropriate SGOC activity.  Not only can your organization lose your SGOC license and be fined, persons involved will be arrested and prosecuted. 

We have made our SDS SGOC system more affordable for the smaller Posts/Lodges and other smaller Organizations by introducing our SDS Core version which will be available soon.  SDS Core will not have the ‘bells and whistles’ that the original SDS Packages offer but it does produce all of the PA LCE Bureau Schedules and you can file electronically with the PA Department of Revenue via Myers Integrated Systems, LLC.

Keep in mind the longer you go without using the SDS SGOC System, the more you may have to pay for on-site assistance in order to bring your 2014 SGOC Activity up to current. 

We hope to have our new brochures and our latest version SDS 3.0 available within the next few weeks.  SDS 3.0 has been enhanced to make the user experience even easier than before (most customers say that it was already intuitive and easy to begin with!).
"May your pockets be heavy and your heart be light, may good luck pursue you each morning and night" - Irish Blessing
~D. Kelly Myers

Friday, February 21, 2014

PA Governor disappointed - only 6 Tavern SGOC Applications and 2 were incomplete

If you have been following this blog, you know that we have been saying that most Taverns would not be choosing to apply for their SGOC license due to the heavy taxation and requirements.

Yesterday (2/20/2014) there were several articles printed in local newspapers stating the Governor and State Department are finding that Taverns are not lining up for their SGOC licenses.

Here are a couple articles for you to check out:

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2014/02/pa_state_budget_small_games_of.html

http://www.altoonamirror.com/page/content.detail/id/579179.html

Make sure you cheer on our USA Hockey team today as they take on Canada with the winner advancing to play for the GOLD !

Friday, February 7, 2014

"PA SGOC 60/40 split is for entire 2014 calendar year" ~PA Depart. of Rev. Interpretation of recent Law Changes

This Just In:

The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue updated their SGOC website today and posted the attached an SGOC_overview.pdf document that you can download.

While Myers Integrated Systems, LLC will be reading through this document thoroughly to ensure our Sienna Database System 3.0 (aka 60-40 version) addresses all requirements, we noticed the following during our initial perusal on the bottom of page 7;




We are hopeful that the PA BLCE will be consistent with their interpretation of when the 70/30-60/40 are in effect.   As of the writing of this Blog (2/7/2014) they have not yet published their interpretation of the recent law changes. 

If you are looking to protect your SGOC license, look no further than our Sienna Database System.  With the SDS System you receive system alerts to notify you when you are getting close to "net proceeds" of $20,000,  $40,000 or any another amount you define.  Be notified when your weekly payouts reach an amount you specify (like $33,000, so you don't exceed $35,000).  The SDS system is unparalleled and is your one-stop Accountability Resource for SGOC Recording, Tracking and Reporting. 

Call us at 844.GET.SGOC (844-438-7462) to learn more or schedule a demo of our system.  We offer interest free financing.  We are also partnering with several Point of Sale Systems so we can offer you a complete 'one-stop' solution to your Small Games of Chance Accountability and Point of Sale needs.

 Good Luck to all United States Athletes at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics!!

 
 
 
Resources:
http://www.revenue.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/small_games_of_chance/14500

 




Friday, January 3, 2014

PA Tavern SGOC Tavern Gaming Informational Sessions

The PA Department of Revenue has updated their SGOC page to include upcoming Tavern SGOC Gaming Informational Sessions for Taverns.

The sessions are being held in 7 locations across Pennsylvania beginning 1/14/14 in Harrisburg and ending 1/24/14 in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

If you own a Tavern and you are thinking about obtaining a PA SGOC license, I strongly suggest you register and attend one of these seminars.

Upcoming Tavern Seminars:

http://www.eventbrite.com/o/5821838583?s=20810667




Resource:
http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/small_games_of_chance/14500