Table games
Few in Harrisburg would have the stomach right now to expand gambling to table games. But that hasn’t kept Democratic House Leaders Bill DeWeese and Mike Veon from proposing the governor and lawmakers go back for seconds. The aim of their legislation is two-fold: to keep up with the neighbors as West Virginia moves to raise the stakes in state-sponsored gaming so that Pennsylvanians’ lose their money at home and to bring about reduction in school property taxes.
If those arguments appear familiar, it’s because they are the same two points that lawmakers hammered away at to craft legislation that permits slots at racing tracks and beyond. Neither of the bill’s sponsors appeared to be actively touting the idea last week during a government affairs conference sponsored by the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association. DeWeese told publishers and editors that it was a hedge against poor predictions in the current bill, so that there is a fall back in case gambling revenue isn’t as great as the slots bill bets that it will be.
Remember that to push this bill through last year, promises were made stretching across the commonwealth from the Pittsburgh airport to the Philadelphia convention center. The schools, which were to be the prime beneficiary, might not see the grand windfall that would substantially reduce property taxes.
This newspaper has repeatedly questioned the numbers and believes the potential revenue was highly inflated. We would hope that we are proven wrong.
To do so will take several years. The gaming board is just now forming and starting the process. It will be some time before slots are up and running and the new stream of revenue trickles in to be counted. Until it does, and until everyone understands how much of an impact gambling will have on communities that host venues and families affected by addiction, any move to broaden it further should be met with resistance.