Rendell Proud of Slot Machine Progress

Pennsylvania has been talking about slot machines for almost 25 years, but no one ever really seemed to want to do it. Then the crisis of the public school system stepped up, and so did property taxes – and slot machines were now a hot issue. With the thought that slot machines could reduce the amount of property taxes being paid, many were much happier at the thought of bringing them in.

Governor Ed Rendell took the slot machine ball and ran with it. He decided that he wanted to make it the cornerstone of his election and during his first year as governor the legislature ok’d the idea of bringing in slot machines to fix the property tax problem they were facing. "I know there are many Pennsylvanians who did not want to see an expansion of [slot machine] gaming, who believe that [slot machines have] some detrimental effects. I agree with you, but Pennsylvanians were gambling anyway," Rendell said at the time.

The original legislation, Act 72, was actually voted down by the school districts it was created to help. The act tied revenue from the slot machines to property tax reductions, thus giving the schools the money they needed and the property tax owners the break they needed. The slot machine plan seemed like a win-win. Rendell kept trying to get the slot machines passed. "Gaming does a lot of good around the state of Pennsylvania. I know my critics don't like to admit that, but it already does a lot of good. And when that billion dollars in property tax relief arrives, [the slot machines will] do more good, especially for older Pennsylvanians," the governor said.

There are now two slot machine parlors open in the state, and when all is said and done there will be eleven places for people to play more than 60,000 slot machines.

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