Pennsylvania On Verge of Jackpot In Slots Deal

http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/news/local/8709860.htm

**********************************************************************
Nothing's in writing, and there's still potential for the deal to break down.

But key figures in Harrisburg indicated yesterday that they've reached a basic agreement on legalizing slot machines in Pennsylvania - a deal that is likely to put two major slot franchises in Center City Philadelphia.

<snip>

"They haven't gotten down to the details yet and the devil's in the details," said Gary Tuma, a spokesman for state Sen. Vincent Fumo. "But there's a commitment among the lead people in each caucus to sit down and hammer it out."

The tentative settlement calls for slot machines to be permitted at up to 15 locations throughout the state:

• Four slot licenses to the state's current thoroughbred and harness-racing tracks, including Philadelphia Park in Bensalem.

• Two slot franchises for new racetracks in Chester and Erie, already approved by the state racing commissions.

• One or two more slot licenses for various consortiums that are hoping to get racing licenses, at locations still to be decided by state racing authorities.

• Four or five slot franchises at non-racing locations, including two in Philadelphia and one for the Pittsburgh area, depending on what happens with several pending racetrack proposals in western Pennsylvania.

• Two smaller "resort" licenses permitting slot machines at a couple of Pennsylvania vacation spots - probably in southwestern Pennsylvania and the Poconos.

<snip>

...After seeing how much gambling brought to a town by family that live in Iowa. The town in question used to practically be a ghost town. Since they've gotten riverboat gambling (there are, I think, 3 boats moored there) the change in the downtown is amazing. For one thing, it's been cleaned up, in a big way, many civic improvements. The cities Class A league ballpark (which was falling to bits; it was the second oldest balpark in the country, built in 1931) has been completely renovated, to name one improvement.

The amount of money going out-of-state on trips to Atlantic City, Mountaineer, etc is staggering. For Pittsburgh, I think riverboat gambling (instead of just slots) would be an amazing draw. I'm not sure about Harrisburg or Philadelphia (as I have never lived in either), but I can't see that it would be bad for them.

Or did it simply create a bunch of minimum-wage McJobs?

On this issue, I'm all for being the Nanny Government. PLEASE, no expansion of gambling. It'll cause a LOT more problems than it will solve. Once you've seen, first-hand, what compulsive gambling does to a family ... you don't want it any closer and more available than it is. I know, I know ... yeah yeah yeah ... someone who wants to gamble is going to gamble. But do we need to make it more and more and more available, to get more people hooked? There's GOTTA be a better way to raise revenues. Watching all the state Democratic legislators being cheerleaders for this makes me so uncomfortable. We're supposed to be the party that wants to help the poor, the destitute, the guy down on his luck (no pun intended) -- this is going to produce SO MANY MORE of those people. What are we THINKING!?