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Roll of the dice for education
Remember that proposal to legalize video poker in taverns, with the money going to help students and their families with the rising cost of college?
It got introduced to the school of hard knocks yesterday. A little Harrisburg hardball.
Gov. Ed Rendell rolled out the plan, which would make what is fairly commonplace right now - video poker in bars and private social establishments - legal and under the jurisdiction of the state. Rendell wants to take the money raised – which he estimates could be as much as
$1.1 billion a year – and give it to college kids. At least some of it.
Rendell envisions putting as many as five video poker machines in 14,000 bars, restaurants and clubs.
Half the money would go to the state, with the other half helping as many as 170,000 students attend a state-owned university or community college. The aid would be doled out on a sliding scale. Families earning less than $32,000 would pay no more than $1,000.
Sounds good, right? Not everyone is all that impressed.
They have a point. Tying gambling to higher education does not exactly paint a pretty picture.
Or, as state Rep. Curt Schroder, R-Chester County, pointed out: “Do you really want your education funded on the backs of families broken by addiction?”
Schroder also pointed it out it might be just a tad premature to be talking about expanding gambling when the state seems to have its hands full trying to regulate its new slots parlors.
Speaking of those new gaming meccas, they have yet to weigh in on this issue, but almost surely will. My guess is they are less than thrilled at the idea of those fine folks usually sitting in front of their slot machines instead sauntering into their neighborhood tap room and indulging their habit there.
That would seem to be especially so for Harrah’s Chester, the only one of the of the state’s seven casinos in operation where revenues are going down. Add in two more casinos that finally appear to be making headway in Philadelphia, and Harrah’s likely is not going to be especially happy over the move to legalize video poker.
Schroder says he’s been told by several casinos that they would file suit to get back some of the $50 million in fees they forked over to the state.
In other words, moving to legalize video poker is looking more like a roll of the dice every day.
It got introduced to the school of hard knocks yesterday. A little Harrisburg hardball.
Gov. Ed Rendell rolled out the plan, which would make what is fairly commonplace right now - video poker in bars and private social establishments - legal and under the jurisdiction of the state. Rendell wants to take the money raised – which he estimates could be as much as
$1.1 billion a year – and give it to college kids. At least some of it.
Rendell envisions putting as many as five video poker machines in 14,000 bars, restaurants and clubs.
Half the money would go to the state, with the other half helping as many as 170,000 students attend a state-owned university or community college. The aid would be doled out on a sliding scale. Families earning less than $32,000 would pay no more than $1,000.
Sounds good, right? Not everyone is all that impressed.
They have a point. Tying gambling to higher education does not exactly paint a pretty picture.
Or, as state Rep. Curt Schroder, R-Chester County, pointed out: “Do you really want your education funded on the backs of families broken by addiction?”
Schroder also pointed it out it might be just a tad premature to be talking about expanding gambling when the state seems to have its hands full trying to regulate its new slots parlors.
Speaking of those new gaming meccas, they have yet to weigh in on this issue, but almost surely will. My guess is they are less than thrilled at the idea of those fine folks usually sitting in front of their slot machines instead sauntering into their neighborhood tap room and indulging their habit there.
That would seem to be especially so for Harrah’s Chester, the only one of the of the state’s seven casinos in operation where revenues are going down. Add in two more casinos that finally appear to be making headway in Philadelphia, and Harrah’s likely is not going to be especially happy over the move to legalize video poker.
Schroder says he’s been told by several casinos that they would file suit to get back some of the $50 million in fees they forked over to the state.
In other words, moving to legalize video poker is looking more like a roll of the dice every day.
posted by Heron's Nest at
7:08 AM
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