Pennsylvania hasn’t had slots for long but already people are beginning to suspect that the state is dependent on the revenues the one-armed bandits bring in. From the Inquirer:
Pennsylvania’s new casino industry established itself as a commanding presence in the great budget showdown, leading some to wonder: Is the state already hooked on slots?
Less than a year old, the five slot-machine casinos pour $1.7 million into state coffers each day, evidence offered by legislators who hoped the facilities would remain untouched by the partial government shutdown.
When furloughs became a reality, the casinos – including Philadelphia Park Casino & Racetrack in Bensalem, and Harrah’s Chester Casino & Racetrack – were granted an injunction from Commonwealth Court that allowed them to stay open during yesterday’s one-day government shutdown.
Any closure would have “devastating effects on the employment, on the market share that our casinos have – and we have Atlantic City right down the street,” State Sen. Robert M. Tomlinson (R., Bucks) said last week.
Gambling revenue: The new mother’s milk | Inquirer | 07/10/2007
I posted this mostly because of the title. I just like the image of smoke-filled slot parlors as nurturing mother’s milk for the state’s budget.