Rendell: No Confidence Table Games Will Be Okayed

Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell says he’s lost all confidence in the General Assembly’s ability to pass a bill legalizing table games.
Rendell says he’s dead-serious about a thousand or more state worker layoffs if the General Assembly doesn’t pass a table games bill by January 8th.
A reporter asked how much confidence the governor has in whether lawmakers can meet his deadline.

"Nil. I wouldn’t be asking our secretaries of going through the exercise of preparing for layoffs if I had confidence that we’re going to get this done. I have waited and I have waited and I have waited. I have waited during the budget process, and I have waited for almost three months subsequent to the budget process."

Rendell says he’d also be forced to close state parks and make other cuts. This year’s budget agreement banks on at least 200 million dollars from table games taxes and licensing fees.
The House and Senate both passed bills this month, but the measures differed on whether or not to grant more resort casino licenses. There were also disparities on how to distribute local shares of table game taxes.