It's Our City is a project that uses TV, Radio and Web
to promote civic engagement in the Philadelphia region.Breaking: Pennsylvania To Expand Legalized Gambling With Video Poker
Tuesday, February 3rd, 2009 at 3:39 pm - by Matt Campbell. Filed under: Casinos.
PA plan would allow five video poker machines per bar
Pennsylvania state officials this afternoon announced they hope to legalize video poker machines in bars and private clubs. The revenues would fund a tuition relief program. The plan, which still requires legislative approval, would allow each bar to have up to five video poker machines.
If successful, this would mark the first expansion of legalized gambling in Pennsylvania since 2004, when slot machines were first approved.
But the state doesn’t see it that way. Acting Revenue Director Stephen Stetler says “This is not an expansion of gaming — it is the recognition that video poker is already a thriving industry in Pennsylvania.” He estimates there are 17,000 video poker machines already in operation, all of them illegal.. Stetler believes video poker could generate an additional $550 million annually for the state.
Jethro Heiko, co-founder of Casino-Free Philadelphia, said the fact that a revenue official announced this plan was indicative of the way Governor Ed Rendell thinks. “The Governor doesn’t see both sides of the ledger. All he can see from expanding this type of gambling is the revenue….Where’s the Cost Secretary?.”
We want to know what you think: Does this represent an expansion of gambling? If the proceeds help a student go to college would you support it? Since casinos can sell (give away) liquor, do you think it’s only fair that bars can offer video poker?
Related links:
2004 story on PA Tavern owners lobbying for video poker
2006 story on failed attempt to expand gambling in PA
2007 interview with Matthew Teague on how PA’s gambling law was created
Additional reporting on this story was provided by Jason Kleinman.
February 3rd, 2009 at 4:06 pm
Is WHYY serious when it asks, “Since casinos can sell liquor, do you think it’s only fair that bars can offer video poker?” What kind of logic is that? Since airplanes sell liquor, do you think it’s only fair that bars can offer flights to Phoenix?
Also, please don’t fall into the trap that this “new” money would be dedicated to fund education. Money is fungible.
February 3rd, 2009 at 4:49 pm
gr8 idea glad i thought of it…a lil 2 late for ernie preate though remember thoses video poker machines cost him his career when he was taking CVash contributions from owners of the machines in the 80s
February 3rd, 2009 at 5:25 pm
Ok Paul, that may not be the best comparison. But I should have put in that Rendell Ok’d free booze at casinos from 7a-2a to those actively playing slot machines. The casino can afford to pay for the liquor because of the slots revenue. But a bar owner doesn’t have that advantage.
February 3rd, 2009 at 8:11 pm
Were there any demographic estimates along with the $550 million figure? What percentage of this money would be generated from those making 30k or under a year?
Measures like this seem to me an awful lot like a tax on people who can’t resist the urge to try to win a quick buck. And not surprisingly, those people are rarely the well-off.
February 4th, 2009 at 9:31 pm
OK, now I understand your argument and I am a little more sympathetic, to a point. You are saying that since slots parlors will draw business away from bars and taverns, perhaps it makes sense for bars and taverns to have video poker to try and protect their bottom lines. First, let’s acknowledge that slots parlors will in fact draw money away from other businesses. That is a good reason not to have slots parlors at all. Second, let’s understand that slots parlors will draw money away from not just bars and restaurants, but also from movie theaters, bowling alleys, etc. So would you want to put video poker in all those places, too? (and, if so, then why do you need the slots parlors?) Going through these circular arguments and down all these rabbit holes is not good public policy. Let’s focus on the product itself: the slot machine or the video poker machine. Learn about whether we should have these products at all: http://www.citypaper.net/articles/2009/01/08/foxwoods-sugarhouse-pennsylvania-gaming-control-board.
February 13th, 2009 at 3:44 pm
Guys, lets face it… 5 VIDEO POKER machines per bar is not by ANY MEANS taking ANY revenue away from a casino. AND, if it does… it means one thing, and one thing only… your casino FLAT OUT SUCKS. As for a casino taking away revenue from local area business such as a movie theater or restaurant… that statement is about 5% true. If i feel like getting drunk with my friends… i go to a bar. If i feel like sitting down to a nice meal with my woman… i go to a nice restaurant. If i feel like seeing a movie, i go to a movie theater. My point is, no one says, “hey i feel like going out to eat, lets NOT go to the local restaurant, but lets go to the casino!!” That statement made NO SENSE. The only people who go to a casino, are the people who want to go and GAMBLE AND WASTE MONEY…. Video poker is a harmless game, c’mon! Tell me what the difference is between me going to the bar and wasting my paycheck on video poker, and the local drunk going to the bar and wasting his paycheck on booze… Oh wait, I KNOW THE DIFFERENCE!! At least my paycheck is going back to society and helping tuition.
February 13th, 2009 at 3:47 pm
By the way… Whats the bar owners cut on profit made? Or hasnt this info been discussed yet??
February 14th, 2009 at 10:32 am
These machines are everywhere anyway. I’ve been playing illegal machines for years. Most of them at private social clubs that do good things in the community. I’ve also known a small business owner who would never have been able to survive without this extra income. In the past year or two there has been a major crackdown on illegal gambling and it has been devastating to those organizations that have been forced to remove their machines. The people who play these machines simply go to wherever the machines are. Many clubs can’t survive without this much needed income. I’ve seen clubs that have been forced to cut scholarships and other programs that help the community. Payrolls have been cut and tips generated by gamblers greatly reduce the incomes of bartenders that still remain employed. In most cases organizations have no choice and are forced to either bring their machines back or shut their doors for good.
I’m not sure if legalizing poker machines will be the saving grace for many of these establishments since poker machines will become widely available. The 50/50 cut proposed will also reduce the funds raised under the current unregulated illegal system that is in place. However it will level the playing field and allow for more creative competition. What I know is that poker machine will be widely available to play regardless if they are illegal or legal.
February 14th, 2009 at 3:22 pm
BUMP to this guy above me…
100% agree
April 6th, 2009 at 11:50 am
The governor is 100% when he says this is not an expansion of gambling in PA. All we’d be doing is taxing an illegal system that has existed for decades. A realist can see this is a logical move. In much in the way a realist would say to Chinatown, “Before you protest a casino in the Gallery, perhaps you could shut down the thousands of slots in the basement operations of Chinatown?” This is noting but a logical tax on something bar owners have been getting away with forever.