Officials oppose VGT expansion
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter Kim Hankins, Executive Director of The Meadows Standardbred Owners Association, speaks during a news conference on Thursday opposing the expansion of video gaming terminals in Pennsylvania at Hilton Garden Inn Southpointe.
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter State Senator Camera Bartolotta, speaks during a news conference on Thursday opposing the expansion of video gaming terminals in Pennsylvania at Hilton Garden Inn Southpointe.
An effort to legalize video gaming terminals for bars and taverns across Pennsylvania got a unanimous thumbs down from Washington County legislators, local elected officials and community leaders Thursday.
During a news conference at Hilton Garden Inn in Southpointe, a half-dozen speakers said the proposed legislation that would place as many as 85,000 VGTs at up to 17,000 locations across the state would have a negative impact on operations of The Meadows Casino, its 1,300 employees and many charitable organizations that receive direct and indirect assistance from the North Strabane Township casino.
The proposal would permit tavern and bar owners to place up to five VGTs at their businesses.
Last year, the state received $1.4 billion from slot machines and table games taxes, totaling $11.4 billion since November 2006.
“The current tax revenue from casinos is a significant portion of our state budget,” said state Sen. Camera Bartolotta, R-Carroll Township, noting the state will receive just 34 percent in slot tax revenue from the proposed VGTs, while casinos pay a 54 percent rate.
“The proposed VGT revenue would be taxed at 20 percent lower rate of what casinos are paying. We simply cannot afford to sacrifice a decline in revenue, while allowing gaming to occur in thousands of unsecured and underregulated bars and taverns.”
On Wednesday, owners of the state’s 11 currently operating casinos sent a letter to leaders of the state House and Senate, stating their opposition to “any expansion of gaming and any opening of the Race Horse Development and Gaming Act so long as the authorization of VGTs is under consideration.”
The casinos said the 18,000 casino employees will find their jobs at risk as a direct result of the authorization of VGTs; local companies and small businesses, which during the last fiscal year sold $230 million in goods and services to the casinos will see a substantial loss of business; while gaming patrons will face “severely reduced” responsible gaming and public protections in the VGT environment.
“Pennsylvania is getting really unfriendly toward its casinos,” Bartolotta said, noting that since casinos were legalized in 2006, the state has raised its administrative fee from 1.5 to 2 percent, resulting in an additional $15 million paid by the casinos.
She added that the state also wants to tax the casinos’ “promotional play,” which they use to attract more visitors, at an 8 percent rate.
The state, she said “is turning this industry into a piñata, and every time they turn around, they’re going to whack it again.”
Peg Wilson, director of the Washington County Food Bank, which has received strong support from The Meadows, said her organization, as well as many other charitable groups in the county, depend upon the local share account funded from a portion of The Meadows’ slot revenue, and would suffer if slots became ubiquitous across the state.
“If we let this happen, shame on us,” Wilson said.
Jeff Kotula, president of the Washington County Tourism Promotion Agency, and Washington County Commission Chairman Larry Maggi noted that The Meadows Casino has become a linchpin for economic activity along Racetrack Road, which now sports numerous hotels, restaurants and outlet shopping.
And one speaker reminded the audience Thursday why casinos were legalized in the first place, as a way to help the state’s horse racing industry.
Kim Hankins, executive director of The Meadows Standardbred Owners Association, noted that the passage of Act 71, the legislation that introduced casino gambling and linked it to the state’s racetracks, “was a windfall for us. Our economic impact went from $1.5 billion a year to over $3 billion,” Hankins said.
“Any hit that the casino will take, we will take,” he said.
The speakers at Thursday’s event were surrounded by about 30 Meadows Casino employees wearing yellow T-shirts stating, “Say no to 85,000 VGTs.”
The Meadows General Manager Sean Sullivan said the casino employs about 1,300. It is one of the largest employers in Washington County.
There was some irony in Thursday’s event.
Both Bartolotta and Sullivan said Thursday that the proposed VGT legislation is being vetted by manufacturers of the gaming terminals, the same makers who provide the casino industry with the terminals.
“These are just like any of the slot machines you’d find in any casino,” Sullivan said.