Pennsylvania Politician Looks at PokerWith Slots on Their Way, Poker and Blackjack May Soon Follow |
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The first slot parlor opened in Pennsylvania only a few weeks ago, but soon people there may be able to play poker legally if Rep. Bill Deweese gets his way.
Deweese, the Democratic minority leader who's expected to become the Speaker of the House after Democrats take control next year, is drafting a bill that would expand Pennsylvania's gambling laws to allow both poker and blackjack in some of the proposed slot casinos.
"This is just a concept that he supports to reduce property taxes," said Tom Andrews, Deweese's press secretary.
The bill is in its early stages of being drafted, and it's not yet decided if Deweese will ask voters to make this decision in the form of a referendum, or if it will be solely decided by the politicians. It's also not known which table games Deweese will ask to be legalized and there is no timeline on how soon this bill will be presented.
Pennsylvania is granting licenses for 14 parlors, but, so far, only one has opened. Neighboring states New York and New Jersey have full-fledged casinos that offer poker and other table games, and casino operators in West Virginia, which has allowed slot casinos to operate there for years, are asking politicians to at least allow its residents to vote on whether they want table games or not.
In the last election, voters in Ohio decided not to allow slots to move into their state.
Pennsylvania will have up to 61,000 slot machines once all the parlors open. Battles for licenses are still taking place, but all the permits should be awarded by the end of the year. Pennsylvania politicians legalized slots in 2004 to help lower the high property taxes there.
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