Staff Blog
Debate over video poker legislation on Philly From Scratch: The Podcast
It's been more than a month since a group of state lawmakers introduced a law in the house that would legalize, regulate, and tax "video poker" machines — a kind of slot machine — and allow every bar in the state to apply for as many as five.
The purpose of the bill, behind which Governor Ed Rendell is putting considerable weight, is to provide tuition relief to Pennsylvania college students. They argue that illegal video poker machines are already operating throughout the state (the state police have given the number as 17,00, a number whose origin is not entirely clear) and that this legislation would regulate and tax an activity already going on.
Opponents of the bill call the legislation a massive and dangerous expansion of gambling. Even if there are 17,000 illegal slot machines operating in the state, the bill would open the door to as many as 80,000 new slot machines in Pennsylvania and as many as 10,000 right here in Philadelphia, where we'e already supposed to get two new slots casinos.
As regular readers know, I've written before about slot machines, and the ways their design and implementation is geared toward exploiting addiction, promoting unhealthy gambling, and, in some cases, perhaps creating addiction where it did not exist before.
Often called the crack cocaine of gambling, slots have evolved over the years to take more money from players more quickly. Slots generate most of a casino's profits. One of the most disturbing statistics out there comes from Professor Earl Grinols, who found that as many as half or more of all casino profits come from problem gamblers.
In this multi-part episode of Philly From Scratch: The Podcast (subscribe on iTunes), I talk to three guests about video poker:
 |
 |
 |
| L-R: Rep. Paul Clymer, Rep. Dante Santoni, Attorney Paul Boni | ||
State House Representative Paul Clymer (R., Bucks) is a member of the House Gaming Oversight Committee and one of the few House members who has consistently and vocally opposed the expansion of gambling in Pennsylvania – first with casinos, now with video poker. In this interview, he shares some of his concerns with the proposed legislation.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
State House Representative Dante Santoni (D., Berks) is the Chairman of the House Gaming Oversight Committee and one of the sponsors of the video poker legislation. In this interview, he defends his decision to deny a request by Philadelphia Representative Mike O'Brien to hold hearings in Philadelphia.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Paul Boni is an attorney for Casino Free Philadelphia, a local group that opposes casinos in the city as well as slot machines in bars and taverns.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
In the these interviews, my guests and I discuss various issues related to the legislation, and cite a few different studies and documents. Links to the relevant information after the jump.
If you like Philly From Scratch: The Podcast, you can subscribe via iTunes and have it delivered straight to your listening device — for free!
- The National Gambling Impact Study Commission's 1999 final report and recommendations, which call for a moratorium on the expansion of gambling in America
- A quick summary sheet with some of the research of economist Earl Grinols; one item is the high percentage of casino revenues that come from problem gamblers, research which Santoni said he was unaware of in our conversation.
- "Casinos, Crime, and Community Costs" by professors Grinols and David Mustard
- My Jan. 2009 City Paper cover story "Meet Your New Neighbor: How Slot Machines are Secretly Designed to Seduce and Destroy You."
[...] For more information, read an article I wrote when the idea was first floated by Governor Rendell, or listen to my elusive podcast, on which both sides of the issue are debated. [...]
Really good work about this website was done. Keep trying more - thanks!