Pa. Gov: Layoffs loom without table games

The final piece of Pennsylvania’s state budget a measure to legalize poker and blackjack probably won’t be approved until next month. This despite the deadline for passing a budget was six months ago.

House Democratic leaders didn’t like the changes the Senate made to a bill putting table games in Pennsylvania casinos.

The final piece of Pennsylvania’s state budget a measure to legalize poker and blackjack  probably won’t be approved until next month. This despite the deadline for passing a budget was six months ago.

House Democratic leaders didn’t like the changes the Senate made to a bill putting table games in Pennsylvania casinos.

They put off a vote on the measure, and have now adjourned until the New Year.

Governor Rendell says the General Assembly needs to pass the measure by January 8th, or he’ll be forced to cut more than 200 million dollars from the budget.

Rendell: And that will mean a minimum of a thousand layoffs. We will begin processing those layoffs on the following Monday – that would be January 11th – if, in fact, we don’t have a bill to sign by the eighth.

But House Republicans say the governor’s bluffing, pointing the fact he’s signed bills authorizing funding for Penn State, Pitt, Lincoln and Temple, after insisting for months that wouldn’t be possible without a table games law.

Minority Whip Mike Turzai says Democrats were only delaying a vote on the schools’ appropriations to gain leverage on table games.

Rendell says he’s slashing funding on appropriations to museums, medical centers and other institutions in order to make up for the lack of casino revenue.