COVERITLIVE.COM

10:53

Jonathan Tannenwald - Good morning. Suzette and Chuck should be joining us shortly. Feel free to submit your questions now.

11:03

Chuck Darrow - Good morning, Suzette! Maybe you can start by filling us in on what's happening in Harrisburg today with table games.

11:06

suzette - Hey Chuck:
Yes, Gov Rendell is meeting with legislative leaders of both houses in Harrisburg to get final agreement on tax rate and licensing fee for legalizing table games in Pa.
Once, he signs a bill, table games can be up and running in the state casinos by spring.
The issue is getting a tax rate that both the House and Senate can agree on. Senate is pushing for 14 percent tax rate, while House Dems have pushed for 34 percent, but have said they can settle for the high teens.

11:07

Chuck Darrow - Do you know why the table game rates proposed are so much lower than the 55 % the state takes from slot revenue?

11:09

suzette -

It's because of the labor costs involved with table games...it takes an average of about 8-9 people to staff one table game round the clock. The casino operators have argued that the only way they can make a profit is to have a substantially lower tax rate on tables vs. slot machines (which don't require anyone to staff them).

11:11

Chuck Darrow -
Makes sense. Other than panic, what is the prevailing feeling in A.C. about the inevitability of Pa. table games? I'm hearing they expect another 15% drop in revenue in A.C.

11:11

Philly.com - Why wasn't such a systemic change left up to voters in the form of a referendum?

11:12

Chuck Darrow - I would imagine because that's not the way they do things in Harrisburg. The original legalization of casinos wasn't done by referendum, so why should they start now?

11:14

suzette -

Good question Chuck.
For Atlantic City, which relies on table games for 30 percent of its revenue. The hit will be substantial. Industry analysts predict an increase of about 25 percent in revenue for Pa - most of that I assume will be at the expense of Atlantic City.

Pa stands to gain many table game players who are making the 60-plus mile commute to AC now.

11:15

Chuck Darrow - How does Atlantic City survive that? Up to now, table games have been its only advantage over Pa.

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