Pennsylvania Proposes Adding Table Games
Wednesday June 17, 2009
Pennsylvania got a taste of the easy money generated from gambling when it legalized slot casinos in the state in 2004. In the first 11 months of the current fiscal year, taxes generated by the legalized slot casinos are up 24.7% for a grand total of $873,899,361 to date.
In an effort to increase the gambling revenue, State Rep. Bill DeWeese officially introduced a proposal on Tuesday to add table games to Pennsylvania's casinos and if approved it is sweet deal for the state. Under the measure, casino operators would pay a $10 million fee up-front to inaugurate games such as blackjack, poker and craps at their currently slots-only facilities. There would be a $500,000 annual renewal fee as well as daily tax of 18 percent and a local-share assessment of 2 percent of its daily gross table-game revenue. This is in addition to the money being paid to the state from the slot machines.