Rendell appoints Ken Trujillo to Gaming Board

Kenneth I. Trujillo, a Philadelphia attorney and former city solicitor, was named today to fill a vacancy on the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, Gov. Rendell's office said.

Trujillo replaces Sanford Rivers, of Pittsburgh, an original member of the board, who recently resigned.

Trujillo, 50, is a member of the law firm Trujillo Rodriguez & Richards L.L.C. In addition to being a former Philadelphia city solicitor, he is a former assistant U.S. attorney, and served on the Obama transition team last year - where he helped review the Securities and Exchange Commission - and on the transition team for then-Gov.-elect Rendell in 2002.

Trujillo was a 2006 investor in a group that applied unsuccessfully for one of two state gambling licenses designated for Philadelphia, the governor's office noted in today's statement announcing the appointment.

The governor appoints three of the gaming board's seven members. Legislative leaders pick the other four.

The board, which is now considering expansion of gambling to include table games, oversees the 12 slot machine casinos licenses issued thus far in Pennsylvania, and can award two more licenses under the state Gaming Act.