Casino owners also fear a shutdown would damage all their efforts to attract customers from nearby states.
"Slot customers are very capricious. They will go to another facility," said Ted Arneault, president and chief executive officer of MTR Gaming Group Inc., which owns Presque Isle Downs near Erie.
If the casinos close, reopening them will take at least three days, experts said yesterday.
"It's not like flipping a light switch back on," said Joseph Lashinger, a minority owner of Harrah's Chester Casino & Racetrack.
Lashinger, a former House Republican representing parts of Montgomery County, said 1,150 Harrah's workers would suffer the most from a forced closure.
The casino, once reopened, would continue to make money, he said, "but our workers can't get back the money they lost."
Working, Not Working
A look at how an extended budget impasse would affect some state services.
Functioning
Inspections for food and animal safety.
Processing of birth and death certificates.
Health care for the poor, food stamps, and cash assistance.
Drinking-water inspections.
Inspections of hospitals and nursing homes.
State police patrols.
Unemployment compensation and workers' compensation.
Liquor stores.
Lottery.
Not Functioning
Permitting for mining and oil- and gas-well drilling.
State park campgrounds.
Driver's license offices.
Grant programs.
Civil-service testing.
Museums and historic sites.
Slot-machine casinos.
Highway occupancy permits.
SOURCES: Governor's Office, Associated Press
Contact staff writer Mario F. Cattabiani at 717-787-5990 or mcattabiani@phillynews.com.
