PITTSBURG POST-GAZETTE: … In 2012, the state’s casinos produced $2.47 billion in slot machine revenue, based on statistics released Thursday by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. That’s 2.7 percent higher than in 2011 — good news for the casinos, but not so much for the gamblers who lost the money to any of the 26,476 one-armed bandits across the state.
All those losses generated more than $1.3 billion in tax revenue for the state, about 2 percent higher than in 2011. Slot machine revenue is taxed at roughly 55 percent in Pennsylvania, with the proceeds going mainly toward property tax relief…
Joseph Weinert, senior vice president of Spectrum Gaming Group, an industry consultant, said much of the state’s growth has come at the expense of Atlantic City, which for years was the go-to place outside of Las Vegas for Pennsylvania gamblers… (more)
