Slot machines in Pennsylvania have yet to regurgitate one quarter, but two influential House Democrats are planning to introduce legislation allowing the expansion of gaming opportunities in the state.
Minority Leader H. William DeWeese, D-Waynesburg, and Democratic Whip Mike Veon, D-Beaver, would propose permitting table games such as poker, blackjack and roulette at the state's yet-to-be licensed 14 slots gaming facilities.
"The estimated $1 billion in school property tax reductions available through slot machines is just the tip of the iceberg for what we could be providing to taxpayers," DeWeese said.
But state Sen. Jake Corman, R-Centre, who voted against Act 71 authorizing the slots, said Tuesday this is not a good idea and he would not support it. "This will be just the beginning before we see full-blown casinos in Pennsylvania."
There is no practical difference, DeWeese said, between putting $10 in a slot machine and putting $10 on a blackjack or poker table.
"The proposal deserves a chance to be debated, and I am not Pollyannish when it comes to assessing the success of the proposal in the near term," he said.
Corman believes lawmakers should see how the current law works before going any further. "This is going to add fuel to the entire gambling debate," he said.
Veon couldn't agree more. "By introducing this legislation, we are looking to start the debate. We want the appropriate committees – tourism and recreational development, and finance – to a take a long, hard look at this plan during the 2005-06 session, and we think it will be clear that this is a smart investment in Pennsylvania's future."
A Republican House member from Lancaster said she doesn't see this as an investment at all, especially since no one knows yet how much money will be realized from the slot machines.
"This is just another form of gambling," said Katie True. "What we have now is bad. There is no sense of adding more bad to that," she said.
DeWeese and Veon point out that consumer spending at casinos across the country steadily increased every year during the last decade. Since 1993, annual spending rose from $11.2 billion to $27 billion. In fact, they say, Americans spent more in commercial casinos in 2003 than they did on going to amusements parks and the movies combined.
"Poker and table games attract a different type of customer than slot machines," DeWeese said.
The recent popularity of celebrity poker tournaments is making table games a much more popular form of gambling, he said. "Pennsylvania must stay competitive with our neighboring states because if we don't, consumers' gaming dollars will go elsewhere."
Delaware approved poker games in 2004 and West Virginia is considering adding them, while 33 states have some form of table gaming, Veon said.
"Table gaming would position Pennsylvania to compete with New Jersey in attracting international tourists' dollars," Veon said.
A 2004 survey by the Hart-Luntz polling firm showed an overwhelming majority of people (87 percent) believe gaming is a question of personal choice and freedom and that the government should not tell American adults what they should or should not be doing with their money.
"I have been against gambling for a lot of years," True said. "I think this is bad public policy for Pennsylvania."
Source: Article originally published in Observer-Reporter