Valley Forge Resort Casino will be smaller (600 slot machines, 60 tables) than other area gaming halls, but players will still lose big. Projections call for $74 million in revenue within five years. By law, the "host" county and community are each entitled to a 2 percent cut for their hospitality - potentially $1.5 million a year or more, forever.
Call it hush money or worse, but even gaming critics will cash those checks happily if they help balance shaky budgets.
In Bucks and Delaware Counties and Philadelphia, the casino money flows directly into the county and particular town's general fund - or in the city's case, primarily to the cash-hungry School District. In most other counties, that "local share assessment" gets routed through a state agency that limits how the funds can be spent.
"When the law was written, nobody knew that Montgomery County would get a casino," noted Commissioner Joe Hoeffel. Now that it is getting one, and he's read the fine print, what's clear to him is this:
"We're getting screwed."
Living on gamblers' losses
Deep in his 2011 budget message, Bensalem Mayor Joseph DiGirolamo acknowledged a fact unimaginable a decade earlier: The suburb's greatest source of income - $11 million - comes from the pockets and purses of losers at Parx Casino.
"The next largest revenue is the real estate tax providing $5,070,000," he wrote, "then user fees generating $4,425,000."
Since Parx opened at the end of 2006, Bensalem has received $45 million. Bucks County has pocketed an additional $32 million.
Long-struggling Chester also fared well from others' woes, adding $42 million to its coffers via a pass-along from Harrah's. Delaware County officials greatly appreciate their $28 million cut - half has gone toward paying down the debt on PPL Park.
