Pa. House Majority Leader DeWeese wants state to consider putting table games at slot parlors

CANONSBURG, Pa. (AP) — The state Legislature’s highest-ranking Democrat said Thursday that Pennsylvania should consider expanding its slot machine parlors to include table games such as poker and blackjack.

House Majority Leader Bill DeWeese told colleagues at a special committee meeting in North Strabane, Washington County, that while it may be premature to expect such games to win approval, it was not too soon to debate the issue.

The meeting, attended by seven state representatives, was convened to take testimony on a table games bill proposed by DeWeese and to discuss the operation of the nearby Meadows Racetrack & Casino, which opened three months ago.

DeWeese said he hoped the introduction of table games would enable the state to “slash drastically the amount of school property taxes that we are paying.”

Representatives of the Meadows and at least one other Pennsylvania casino have said they want to offer table games, but only at a lower tax rate than is in effect for slots machines.

Bill Paulos, an executive with the Meadows’ Las Vegas-based parent company, said the addition of table games at nearby West Virginia racetracks this fall makes it critical for Pennsylvania to introduce them to keep up.

“It’s the obvious move,” he told the House Gaming Oversight Committee, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “We’re being attacked by West Virginia and now’s the time to respond.”

Some committee members said they wanted more time to evaluate the current system before considering expanding it to include table games, which probably would not be introduced for at least two years.