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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Dante Santoni |
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Table games bill goes to full House for vote
HARRISBURG, Oct. 2 – The House Gaming Oversight Committee today approved legislation that would permit table games like poker and blackjack at Pennsylvania's 14 licensed slot-gaming facilities.
Committee Chairman Dante Santoni, D-Berks, said the committee amended and approved S.B. 711, which also addresses a number of reforms to Pennsylvania’s gaming industry. The bill is a component of the revenue package necessary to fund the 2009-10 budget that state lawmakers are working to complete. Pennsylvania's current budget deficit is estimated at $3.2 billion.
"Adding table games to our current slot casino establishments is something casino patrons want and what the state needs to help close the massive budget shortfall we are facing," Santoni said. "State residents should reasonably expect the legislature to look at all potential options available to help create jobs, make Pennsylvania more attractive to those who visit our casinos and raise revenues for the state."
The bill would allow Category 1 and Category 2 licensed slot machine facilities to operate up to 200 table games at any one time, while Category 3 licensee could operate up to 75. Facilities would be allowed to exceed those numbers for special tournaments. Category 1 licensees include racetracks with slot machines, while Category 2 licensees are stand-alone casinos. Category 3 licenses go to resort destinations like the Valley Forge Convention Center and the potential casino at the Crowne Plaza Reading in Wyomissing.
Licensees approved by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control board to operate table games would pay a one-time fee of $20 million. The fee for Category 3 licensees would be $7.5 million. Licensees also would pay 34 percent of all daily table game revenues to the state, under the bill.
Santoni said table game revenues would provide nearly $62 million for the state this fiscal year and nearly $247 million in subsequent years. The one-time fees would generate $255 million.
"The start-up revenue from table games will help the state with its short-term budget problems, while continuing revenues will provide sustainable funding for years to come," Santoni said. "As we look to the future, and as the economy recovers, it is my hope that we turn these revenues fully to property tax relief for local homeowners."
Earlier this year, the Gaming Oversight Committee conducted a public meeting on the financial impact of table games in Pennsylvania. Steve Rittvo, chairman and CEO of The Innovation Group, the company that prepared the financial report the committee examined, said the addition of table games like blackjack, poker and roulette in Pennsylvania casinos would allow the gaming industry to realize its full potential. He said it would enable the state to compete with surrounding states that either have games or are in the process of considering table games, including New Jersey, West Virginia, Delaware, New York and Ohio. According to the report, table games would create more than 16,000 new jobs and create a $1 billion economic output annually for the Commonwealth.
Senate Bill 711 now goes to the full House for consideration.