Statewide Gambling Conference -- Series of 'Firsts' -- Begi...( PHILADELPHIA Sept. 25 /- The Coun...),Health

PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- The Council on Compulsive Gambling of Pennsylvania is sponsoring with the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, Preferred Systems Inc., and the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, our first centrally located Problem Gambling Conference.

The Harrisburg East Holiday Inn at 4751 Linden Road will host the conference on Sept. 30, Oct. 1, 2 and 3. The Conference will be opened by Tom Wolf, Secretary of Revenue and feature a national expert each day. Ken Winters PhD of the University of Minnesota, an international expert on youth problem gambling and addictions will present on the latest findings on the adolescent brain and the addictive process. Ken Nelson MD, noted gambling treatment psychiatrist will address the new discoveries in neurobiology and the pharmacology of gambling treatment.

For the first time in Pennsylvania the Council is offering thirty hours of basic problem gambling training and 30 hours of advanced training on two concurrent training tracks. Another first includes the offering of the International Gambling Counselor Certification examination for those behavioral health professionals seeking national certification as gambling counselors.

Other First Time presentations include:

-- Nan Horner, JD Pa. Gaming Control Board -- Regulatory Efforts to Curb Problem Gambling

-- Colleen Leonard -- National Helpline Service -- Who's Calling -- over 34,000 calls have come to the Pa. Gambling Helplines. Who are our callers and how do we help them.

-- Ed Trees, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Lottery -- Responsible Gaming Practices

-- Joanne and Rick Curlino -- Gambling Treatment Experts -- Co-occurring disorders and coordinated care

-- William J. Kane JD, CSW, CEAP -- Gambling Treatment, Ethics and the Law

-- Keith Whyte, Executive Director of the National Council on Problem Gambling, will speak to Public Policy Initiatives and the role of the Advoca
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