NewsLanc articles and Letters to the Editor have hypothesized that the ‘end game’ for the convention center project is the incorporation of a casino. Although to date, only slot parlors have been permitted in the several such facilities recently licensed elsewhere about the state, there has been much speculation that table gambling will soon be permitted.
The following is excerpted from the March 2, 2008 Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader:
“Pa. table games an odds-on favorite”
“How soon patrons will be able to sit down to a game of poker or roll the dice in the state’s casinos will depend on politics and money, not necessarily in that order. With property tax relief waiting in the wings and a slowing economy, it might not be long before enough legislators can be rounded up to support expanded gambling opportunities and the tax receipts that come along with them.”
“Some legislators participating in a panel discussion held last Tuesday at the Pennsylvania Gaming Congress in Harrisburg wouldn’t hesitate to authorize table games now.”