Karen Heller: Gaming revenue a sure losing bet

Category: Busy Sidewalks

Published Date

Written by Randy Garbin

By any measure, Karen Heller is one the best columnists in the country. In this recent piece, Karen nails the problem of the proliferation of gambling right on the head. We've grappled with our own reasons why we believe the move toward gambling a revenue source in the rust-belt is a losing bet any way you look at it. Now that every state will soon have its own slot parlors, the pie slices get increasingly smaller while the liabilities imposed only increase further. Go get 'em Karen!

By Karen Heller

O Table games, O Table Games
How lovely are your profits!
Your lucre green will always grow
In Harrisburg through winter snow

Oh, snap and craps! Here we thought the Pennsylvania legislature was going to deal us blackjack and poker for the holidays because nothing quite says Christmas like seven-card stud.

But no. Table games have been tabled. We will have to wait until January, or perhaps Groundhog Day, to get the roulette ball going.

Gov. Rendell, in what might be called a snake-eyes-for-students move, held up $647 million in appropriations for Pennsylvania State, Temple, and Lincoln Universities and the University of Pittsburgh until Thursday night in an effort to get his games. Now, he says 1,000 government jobs are on the line if the measure isn't passed by Jan. 8 to generate a projected $250 million in revenues to close the budget gap. Basically, it's shut up and deal.

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