[bucks native]

Shame, in a sense. A classy casino in the Strawbridge Building would have been great for Market East.

Sun, Oct. 11, 2009

Table games in Pa. are all but assured
By Suzette Parmley

Inquirer Staff Writer

HARRISBURG - The last piece of the budget that Gov. Rendell finally signed Friday night has not quite clicked into place.

But everyone in the middle of the 101-day budget marathon considers this final item a fait accompli. Legislators expect to get it done this week. The budget won't balance without it.

In fact, the people with the most to gain are so confident of its passage that they have already cleared thousands of square feet of space on the floors of their casinos.

Thanks to the budget crisis, legalized gambling in Pennsylvania is about to expand dramatically.

Between 2001 and 2008, investors in Pennsylvania's 14 licensed gaming facilities gave $4.4 million to political campaigns in the state, according to a study by the self-styled watchdog group Common Cause. Millions more came from lawyers and lobbyists representing those interests, the study found. (Campaign reports for any donations made during the 101-day budget stalemate aren't available yet.)

"There is a recognition amongst all parties that table games are coming to Pennsylvania," Marcy, Eachus' spokesman, said Friday after a table-games bill passed the Senate 29-20.

The legislation now goes to the House and may be voted on as soon as Tuesday. If it reaches Rendell's desk this week, table games could be running by spring. The state Gaming Control Board has said it would need six to nine months to be ready to regulate the new games.