Pandora's Box

Flawed public policy is flawed public policy wherever it exists. At least some folks get it --

...there will simply be new methods of gambling explored every time a spending crisis hits the state.


Rolling the dice

A weird thing happened on the way to table games in Pennsylvania.

People are already wondering if it’s the right way to go.

And that includes the governor. Yep, Ed Rendell. The guy who has been one of the biggest proponents of expansion of legalized gambling in Pennsylvnia.

Last week the Pennsylvania Legislature finally got around to passing the bill paving the way for poker, roulette and craps to be added to slots at the state’s new gambling parlors, including Harrah’s Chester Casino & Racetrack.

They’ve been kicking it around since last summer. The state needed the $250 million boost – including an initial influx of cash before the games even start from the license fees casinos would pay – to close a budget gap. It took more than 100 days past the July 1 deadline for the state budget to hammer out a spending plan. Then it took another three months for our representatives to agree on legislation to usher in the table games era.

You would think Rendell would consider this a victory. Instead he reacted as if he’d just gulped down a spoonful of castor oil. Rendell went so far as to sign the legislation Friday in private, without the usual public fanfare such an event would spark.

Rendell made it clear he wanted to have all the state’s casinos up and running before considering expansion to table games. But the state’s financial crisis pretty much made that a moot point.

Other legislators also took some potshots at the bill.

State Rep. Steve Barrar, R-160, said the bill failed to deliver enough in the way of property tax relief.

Rep. Greg Vitali, D-166, as he usually does, made the argument that gambling is not the way the state should be solving its financial woes.

By the way, don’t expect to show up at Harrah’s and sit at a table to play poker this weekend. State gambling officials say it likely will be six to nine months to get the games up and running.

In the meantime, casinos such as Harrah’s are already ramping up their preparations. Harrah’s boss Vince Donlevie says his facility likely will add 300 jobs to handle the new methods of gambling.

The state has opened Pandora’s Box when it comes to gambling. There’s now no way to put the genie back in the bottle. Instead, there will simply be new methods of gambling explored every time a spending crisis hits the state.

Can you say sports gambling?