(a) Initial auctions.--
(1) Beginning no later than January 15, 2018, and concluding by July 31, 2018, the board shall conduct initial auctions for the 10 available Category 4 slot machine licenses.
(2) The board shall set the date, time and location of the initial auctions at least three weeks prior to the initial auction and make the auction information available on the board's publicly accessible Internet website.
(b) Subsequent auctions.--
(1) If a winning bid is not awarded at an initial auction conducted under subsection (a), the board shall conduct subsequent auctions.
(2) A Category 1 or Category 2 slot machine licensee that submitted a winning bid in an initial auction shall be eligible to submit a bid in all subsequent auctions.
(3) Except as provided under subsection (c)(10)(ii), (11), (12) and (13), the board shall complete all subsequent auctions no later than August 31, 2018.
(b.1) Additional auctions.--If a subsequent auction fails to generate any bids, the board, in its discretion, may determine if it is in the best interests of the Commonwealth whether to conduct additional auctions at which any Category 1, Category 2 or Category 3 slot machine licensee, or other qualified entity, may bid. If the board intends to conduct additional auctions, the board shall first establish criteria and procedures for the qualification of entities to bid and apply for a Category 4 license.
(c) Auction procedures.--The following shall apply to the auctions conducted by the board:
(1) Auctions shall be conducted using a competitive bidding process.
(2) The board shall adopt procedures to prevent bid rigging and collusion among bidders and establish auction conditions, processes or procedures. The procedures shall not be subject to review under section 205 of the act of July 31, 1968 (P.L.769, No.240), referred to as the Commonwealth Documents Law, sections 204(b) and 301(10) of the act of October 15, 1980 (P.L.950, No.164), known as the Commonwealth Attorneys Act, or the act of June 25, 1982 (P.L.633, No.181), known as the Regulatory Review Act.
(3) The board shall require each prospective bidder to submit a bond or letter of credit in the amount of the minimum bid under paragraph (5).
(4) Each auction shall be conducted separately.
(5) The minimum bid shall be $7,500,000. In no case may the board accept a bid that is less than $7,500,000.
(6) If the auction does not result in a winning bid, the highest bidders shall have one hour to submit a final and best bid to the board at the same public meeting. If the submission of the final bids does not result in a winning bid, the highest bidders shall continue to submit final bids, in an amount not less than or equal to a prior bid submission, until a winning bid is received.
(7) The winning bidder shall pay to the board the bid amount within two business days following the auction. Payment shall be by cashier's check, certified check or any other method acceptable to the board.
(8) If the winning bidder does not pay the bid amount within the time period required under paragraph (7), the second highest bidder shall be awarded the right to select a Category 4 location and apply for the Category 4 slot machine license, so long as the second highest bidder's bid amount meets the requirements of paragraph (5). If the second highest bidder declines the award or is ineligible to win, the board shall conduct another auction.
(9) Upon winning an auction, the winning bidder at the public meeting shall select the Category 4 location at which it intends to operate the Category 4 licensed facility. The board shall post the Category 4 location selection on its publicly accessible Internet website. The selected Category 4 location may not be selected by a subsequent winning bidder.
(10) (i) The winning bidder shall submit an application for the Category 4 slot machine license within six months of the payment of the winning bid amount. The board may, in its discretion, extend this deadline for a period not to exceed two additional months.
(ii) Failure of the winning bidder to submit an application within the time under subparagraph (i) shall result in forfeiture of the bidder's right to apply for the license and forfeiture of the winning bid amount. The board shall conduct another auction at a time determined by the board.
(11) Issuance of a Category 4 slot machine license by the board to a winning bidder shall be contingent upon the bidder's ability to meet the requirements of this part.
(12) In the event the board denies the application for the Category 4 slot machine license filed by the winning bidder, the winning bidder shall be entitled to a return of 75% of the winning bid amount the winning bidder submitted under paragraph (7). A refund under this paragraph shall be paid from the General Fund. The board shall conduct another auction at a time determined by the board.
(13) If the board approves the application for the Category 4 slot machine license filed by the winning bidder and the applicant fails to open and operate the Category 4 licensed facility, the bid amount submitted under paragraph (7) is forfeited. The board shall conduct another auction at a time determined by the board.
(d) Deposit of fees.--Notwithstanding section 1209 (relating to slot machine license fee), all Category 4 slot machine license auction fees and authorization fees shall be deposited into the General Fund.