Table Games

A state senator yesterday introduced a proposal to allow Pennsylvania's slot-machine parlors to add table games, as lawmakers begin to craft legislation that would also provide a hefty dose of new money for the state. "Given the current budget crisis that we face - the worst economic downturn in decades, and a shaky job climate - there is no better time for Pennsylvania to add table games to our casinos," Sen. Tommy Tomlinson (R., Bucks) told a committee in Harrisburg. "Table games in casinos could be a reliable, recurring revenue source to the state, and provide more jobs.

A Pennsylvania horsemen's group maintains that introduction of table games at the state's casinos would lower slots revenue, thus hurting the horse-racing industry. The decrease could be 8 percent to 13 percent, according to the Pennsylvania Equine Coalition, which presented its study to the House Gaming Oversight Committee in Harrisburg yesterday. "Current table-games legislation misguidedly sets different tax rates for slot machines and table games, creating the potential for lost state revenues and declines in funds for the equine industry," said Joe Santanna, president of the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association, a member of the equine coalition.

As it was about to mark the first anniversary of blackjack, poker, craps, and other table games, Pennsylvania closed out its fiscal year June 30 with $81.5 million generated by 10 state casinos, according to figures released Monday by the board that regulates the industry. The launch of table games began July 8, 2010, starting in the western part of the state and moving eastward. Parx in Bensalem, Harrah's in Chester, and Sands Casino Resort in Bethlehem rolled them out July 18, 2010.

Before boarding a business flight to Miami about noon Sunday, John McKenna of Northeast Philadelphia indulged in a few spins of the roulette wheel at Parx Casino. "It's more interactive. There's more of a human element," said McKenna, 36, referring to the newest attraction at Philadelphia's suburban casinos: dealer-staffed table games. As of early Sunday, Parx in Bensalem, Harrah's Chester Casino & Racetrack in Delaware County, and Sands Casino Resort in Bethlehem had joined the table-games locomotive - anticipated by many, including McKenna, to further erode Atlantic City's already flagging fortunes.

After almost two months, the state House is scheduled to begin deliberation today on legislation to add table games at slot parlors and pump $200 million into the state budget. A final vote could take place by late tomorrow, said Bob Caton, spokesman for House Speaker Keith McCall (D., Carbon). Three points of contention remain in the legislation: the amount of taxes that would be levied on table-game revenue; the creation of additional gaming licenses for resorts; and the number of slots and table games permitted at casino resorts.

IN PASSING the table-games legislation that will allow poker, craps and roulette in the state's slots parlors, the Legislature has again confirmed that as far as it's concerned, we cities, counties, and communities of the commonwealth are mere colonies that toil to serve the Great Empire of Harrisburg. At least that's what it feels like in reviewing some of the key points of the legislation. _ It overrides the city's smoking ban. _ By granting a new 2012 deadline for the Foxwoods casino to open in the city, it overrides the state Gaming Control Board's own deadline of 2011.

Leaders in the state General Assembly have struck a deal to legalize table games as Gov. Rendell threatened yesterday to lay off 995 employees unless that legislation is approved by Friday. The big question now: Can those legislative leaders convince their members in the state House and Senate to vote for the deal? Two sticking points in the legislative tussle between the House and Senate have been resolved, according to documents obtained yesterday by the Daily News . _ Local taxes - An estimated $3.6 million per year in "local share" taxes from table games at two planned casinos in Philadelphia would go to the city government instead of being distributed as grants by the state Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED)

The long-disputed table-games bill may have to wait until January. Legislation to allow poker, roulette, and other games at Pennsylvania casinos fell victim last night to one more round of disagreement between the Democratic-controlled state House and the Republican-controlled Senate. The Senate approved the bill, 27-22, after rewriting key sections in a move that House Democratic leaders immediately warned could shatter a fragile majority needed to send the measure to Gov. Rendell.

Keith Bewley stood in line at Delaware Park casino eagerly waiting to demonstrate that he had good vision, dexterity, and could count - essentials to being a table-games dealer. "I'm a victim of the recession," said the currently unemployed Bewley, 28, of West Grove in Chester County, who took his place at the table, rubbed his hands together, and began stacking a pile of chips by color, one of the tests. He proceeded to the next round, where he shuffled a deck of cards, had an interview, and took a drug test.

Inside the ornate rotunda of the Capitol yesterday, a student choir stood on white marble steps behind a massive Christmas tree, its voices filling the dome with verses of "Joy to the World. " Fourth graders posed for a class photo while a busload of senior citizens from Washington County made its way to the gallery of the House chamber. There, lawmakers were giving a long, sentimental farewell to Rep. Craig A. Dally (R., Northampton), who was to become a county judge. At 12:54 p.m., just before recessing for an hour, they had a last item of business: passing a resolution to make January "Learn a Snow Sport" month.

ATLANTIC CITY - The dozen casinos here experienced a 12.1 percent drop in casino revenue in April, compared to a year earlier - continuing a pattern of double digit declines. The resort's gaming revenue was down 13.2 percent in January; 12.5 percent in February; and 12.8 percent in March. Total casino revenue was $228.5 million last month, compared to $259.9 million in April 2012. Ten of the 12 gambling halls reported year-over-year declines, but Revel - which had its first anniversary on April 2 - reported the largest drop at 40.1 percent.

Calling SugarHouse Casino "ripe for expansion," the gaming hall's general manager told state regulators Tuesday that a plan to scale back a parking garage while enlarging the gambling floor makes more sense than an earlier proposal. Wendy Hamilton, who has run the waterfront casino on North Delaware Avenue since its 2010 opening, said customers have told her that the casino needs "more elbow room. " "This is a better plan," Hamilton testified in a hearing before the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board in Philadelphia.

ATLANTIC CITY - The California development company that plans to buy Atlantic City's Trump Plaza Hotel & Casino for $20 million says the deal is on hold. In a statement issued late Friday, the Meruelo Group said the sale could not currently be completed as planned because Trump Entertainment had been unable to obtain the release of a mortgage held by a "senior secured lender. " When the deal was announced in February, Meruelo said it hoped to close the sale by May 31 The Press of Atlantic City said Trump spokesman Brian Cahill confirmed Meruelo's statement but had no further comment.

HANOVER, Md. - Maryland Live, the largest and most successful of the state's three operating casinos, introduced dealer-staffed table games late last week, doubling its workforce seemingly overnight - and, some say, amping up its threat to gambling halls in Atlantic City and Delaware, plus at least one casino along I-95 in Pennsylvania. Craps player Nick Giron, 28, of Prince George County, said he'd be cutting back on his trips to Atlantic City. It's a 30-minute drive to Maryland Live vs. three hours to the Shore, where he typically plays craps at the Borgata.

After the first of two days of public testimony Thursday, the state's Gaming Control Board had heard more support than opposition for a second casino in Philadelphia. But if there was a message for the seven commissioners, it was to pick a project that will do more for the city than just add slot machines and table games. Sen. Larry Farnese (D., Phila.), whose district includes the sites for all six casino applicants, urged the board to select a project that would bring the most positive change to the urban landscape.

After the first of two days of public testimony Thursday, the state's Gaming Control Board heard more comments of support than opposition for a second casino in Philadelphia. But if there was a message for the seven commissioners, it was to pick a project that did more for the city than just add more slot machines and table games. Sen. Larry Farnese (D., Phila.) whose district includes the sites for all six casino applicants, urged the board to select a project that would bring the most positive change to the urban landscape.

Despite gaming revenue's precipitous decline at Atlantic City's casinos in the last six years, glamorous images of gamblers at poker and blackjack tables will be included in the 2013 campaign of the Atlantic City Alliance, which is charged with rebranding the Shore town and its new tourism district. The addition of gaming ads - one titled, "Your Tables Are Ready"; another, "Bring Your Game Face and Your Poker Face" - is a shift from last year's inaugural campaign. The alliance works in partnership with the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority and was created as part of Gov. Christie's five-year revitalization plan for the ailing resort.

ATLANTIC CITY - From the day it opened less than a year ago, Revel decided to break the rules. The newest casino in Atlantic City banned smoking, didn't offer a buffet, turned its back on bus-riding day-trippers and focused on the upscale leisure traveler more than the slot-playing senior citizen. But Monday, the $2.4 billion resort found it could not break the law of supply and demand as it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Camden. Revel was dragged down by bad timing.

ATLANTIC CITY - Revel AC Inc., owner of the ailing, barely-a-year-old Revel casino, is expected to file its Chapter 11 petition in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Camden on Monday, the start of what is expected to be a two-month process to get its finances back on track. Revel will maintain normal business operations during the bankruptcy. But the financial restructuring appears to clear the way for a series of practical changes, including addition of a smoking area, a beach bar, and more reasonably priced restaurants, among other things, by Memorial Day weekend, in time for the resort's peak season.