Play Pennsylvania Authors and Staff

PlayPennsylvania is one of dozens of Play-branded sites in the Catena Media network that provides reliable, trustworthy content and resources on the legal gambling industry. Our site is independently owned and operated and has no ownership ties to any casino – commercial, tribal, online or otherwise.

What we do

  • Provide the latest news and information around gambling legislation, legal gaming options, and the Pennsylvania casino industry.
  • Educate consumers about safe and responsible gambling.
  • Provide reliable resources and reviews for legal land-based and online gambling options.

Our mission

Our mission is to be a trusted source of news, information, and resources for legal gambling in Pennsylvania.

To achieve that mission, we have rigorous editorial standards for publishing, which you can read about here. We also have industry experts who write and fact-check all the content you will find at PlayPennsylvania.

Contact Us

Catena Media
11700 W. Charleston BLVD #170 – 520
Las Vegas, NV 89135

Meet the team at PlayPennsylvania

Our editorial team includes professional writers and journalists who collectively boast decades of experience covering legal gambling and sports in Pennsylvania, Atlantic City, and beyond.

Tyler AndrewsTyler Andrews headshot

Tyler Andrews is the managing editor at PlayPennsylvania, covering online casinos, sports law, and all the best legal gambling options in the Keystone State. He has also covered similar topics for NCSharp, PlayTexas, PlayGeorgia, PlayCA, PlayFlorida, PlayOhio, and PlayMA. Tyler’s current focus is on how Pennsylvania has set the national standard for online casinos.

 

 

 


Corey Sharp

Corey Sharp is the Lead Writer at PlayPennsylvania bringing you comprehensive coverage of sports betting and gambling in Pennsylvania. Corey is a 4-for-4 Philly sports fan and previously worked as a writer and editor for the Philadelphia Inquirer and NBC Sports Philadelphia.

 

 


Dave Bontempo

Dave Bontempo, a multiple national award-winning boxing commentator and writer, authors NFL betting columns for the Press of Atlantic City and IGaming Player, among others. He extensively covers legal New Jersey and Pennsylvania sports betting and is also an on-camera personality for Eagles betting content in the Catena Media network.

 

 


Matthew LomonMatthew Lomon Headshot

Matthew Lomon has been a contributor at Catena Media’s network of regional sites since July 2022. He first broke into covering the legal North American gambling industry with PlayCanada. Since then, Matthew’s reporting has extended to PlayMichigan, PlayPennsylvania, and PlayIllinois. Based out of Toronto, Ontario, Matthew is an avid (bordering on fanatic) sports fan.

 

 

 


T.J. McBride

T.J. McBride is a writer and reporter based in Denver. He covers the gambling landscape across multiple states in addition to his main beat covering the NBA’s Denver Nuggets. His NBA work can be found at several major media outlets including ESPN, FiveThirtyEight and Bleacher Report.

 

 


Hill Kerby

Hill Kerby comes from a background of poker, sports and psychology. He brings all of that expertise into his writing, where he contributes content in the growing legalized sports betting, online casino and gambling industry.

 

 


Bill Gelman

Bill Gelman is a veteran sports writer based just outside of Philadelphia and not too far from the Jersey Shore. Bill covers the legal gambling industry including sports betting, online casinos and Atlantic City casino news.

 

 


Martin HarrisMartin Harris

Martin Harris is a writer and teacher who has reported on poker, online gambling, and sports betting since the mid-2000s. Once a full-time academic (Ph.D., English), he currently teaches part-time in the American Studies program at UNC Charlotte. In 2019, his book Poker & Pop Culture was published by D&B Books.

 

 


Past contributors

Valerie Cross

Valerie Cross helped manage and contribute to Catena Media’s Play-branded sites in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Michigan and has covered poker and the legal gambling industry since 2016. Valerie got her BA at Furman University and has MA and PhD degrees in language education from Indiana University.

 

 


Chris Imperiale

Chris Imperiale has served as Managing Editor of PlayPennsylvania and of Catena Media’s US online lottery site, PlayiLottery. He has a journalism degree from Rutgers University and was formerly on staff at Bleacher Report.

 

 


Derek Helling

Derek Helling is a freelance journalist who resides in Chicago. He is a 2013 graduate of the University of Iowa and covers the intersections of sports with business and the law.

 


Dustin GoukerDustin Gouker

Dustin Gouker has been a journalist for more than 15 years, working as a reporter, editor, and designer. Besides contributing to PlayPennsylvania, Dustin’s career has also included stops at The Washington Post and the D.C. Examiner.


Nathan Frederick

Nathan Frederick is an award-winning writer with more than 1,000 published bylines and two decades of journalism experience. His work has won awards from the Pennsylvania Society of Professional Journalists, the Keystone Press Association, and the Associated Press Sports Editors. He has also authored three books, one of which debuted as an Amazon No. 1 New Release.


Brian Cross

Brian Cross is a freelance writer who studied Professional Writing and Journalism at the University of Cincinnati. Brian cut his teeth at Cincinnati’s alt-weekly as a contributing writer for over 10 years. He grew up tagging along to the horse track with dad on the weekends, and still picks horses based on the color of their silks.
 

 


Katie KohlerKatie Kohler

Katie Kohler is a Philadelphia-area based award-winning journalist who in the past served as Managing Editor at PlayPennsylvania and covers the Pennsylvania gambling industry with an emphasis on sports betting, online casino, poker, and the lottery.

 

 


Advertising disclosure

PlayPennsylvania is an independent publication with no ownership stake in any casino brand. Our network of sites is, however, advertising-supported. Some of those advertisers include commercial casinos.

There is no connection between our advertising and our news content. Our news, analysis and reviews are objectively produced by our writing team. We do not accept sponsored posts or other forms of “native” advertising.

  • In some cases, we may receive a commission or other financial compensation when you visit an online poker room, sportsbook or casino via a link on our site.
  • In other cases, casinos or poker rooms may pay us in exchange for advertising space. These ads are clearly marked as sponsorship or are otherwise obviously demarcated from content (e.g. banner ads).

Our Editorial Policies and Review Process

PlayPennsylvania has a talented team of professional editors and writers who are experts in various aspects of the legal gambling industry. Most of our esteemed writers live in Pennsylvania where they regularly cover PA gambling on the ground, utilizing local contacts and primary sources in the PA gaming space. When we use secondary sources, our policy is to make it clear where our information came from, and appropriately cite all references.

All of our content at PlayPennsylvania is thoroughly researched and goes through a robust review process before publication. We have a team of copy editors that checks for grammar and spelling errors. PlayPennsylvania’s managing editor Chris Imperiale then fact-checks all articles before they go live. Our reviews are done by a professional team of writers with intimate knowledge of online gambling websites in PA.

We strive to produce the best objective resources on gambling options and local sports betting and industry news. In the event that errors occur in our published materials, they are quickly corrected. When significant updates are made to an article, our policy is to explicitly state what was added and when the update was made.

Media appearances

Members of our team are regularly called upon for expertise on a number of topics pertaining to the regulated gambling industry in Pennsylvania. For media inquiries, please contact [email protected].

Careers at Catena Media

PlayPennsylvania and other sites throughout our network of Catena Media sites are looking to add motivated, talented writers to our team. If you are interested in a position with Catena, visit our Careers page.

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