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Lawmakers mull casino change for Valley Forge

Republican lawmakers in Harrisburg are contemplating a raft of changes to the state's casino gambling law, including one that could benefit Ira Lubert's Valley Forge Casino Resort, as they work through a difficult budget.

Republican lawmakers in Harrisburg are contemplating a raft of changes to the state's casino gambling law, including one that could benefit Ira Lubert's Valley Forge Casino Resort, as they work through a difficult budget.

They are also resurrecting discussion of legalizing Internet gambling, although that appears to be a long shot.

"I think the thing driving this, more than anything, is the need for money to settle a budget, where there's not a lot of people who want to vote for a tax increase," State Sen. Tommy Tomlinson (R., Bucks) said Thursday.

Most of the proposals, including Internet gambling, 24-hour liquor licenses, and satellite slots parlors, involve fees that casino owners would pay to expand their businesses, and could help the goal of guaranteeing revenue for the 2015-16 budget.

Pennsylvania casino gambling revenue peaked at $3.15 billion in 2012, but was down to $3.07 billion last year, which means the state's take in taxes also was virtually flat.

Tomlinson and three other senators, including President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati (R., Jefferson), said Wednesday that legislation is planned that would eliminate access restrictions at Valley Forge, which has a Category Three license.

Lubert and his partners would have to pay a fee of at least $5 million.

Under the current license, only guests at the hotel and visitors who spend at least $10 elsewhere at the property or buy a membership are allowed into the casino, which is also limited to 600 slot machines.

"Reforming the Gaming Act would not only benefit our guests, it has the potential to generate even greater tax revenues for the commonwealth," Valley Forge Casino chairman Bob Pickus said in a statement.

Other operators have been against the change.

"We are staunchly opposed to relaxing Category Three restrictions," Ron Baumann, general manager of Harrah's Philadelphia in Chester, said.

Like other full-scale casinos, which can have up to 5,000 slot machines, Harrah's paid a $50 million license fee. The fee for Lubert's Valley Forge casino was just $5 million.

Another big change contemplated by lawmakers would allow full-scale casinos to open satellite locations with up to 250 slots.

The casinos would still be limited to 5,000 slots overall, and mileage restrictions would remain in place.

Lawmakers in both houses also are taking another run at the legalization of Internet gambling.

State Rep. John Payne (R., Dauphin), chairman of the Gaming Oversight Committee, in February introduced Internet gambling legislation with a license fee of $5 million and a 14 percent tax rate.

Tomlinson warned that such a low tax rate on Internet gambling would be costly to the state because operators, who pay a 54 percent tax on slots revenue in their casinos, would figure out ways to shift gamblers to online gambling to save money.