On March 1st, 2009, the decision by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board to allow the games of blackjack, craps, roulette and poker and state owned casinos as long as they are in electronic format seemed peculiar to some legislators. Pennsylvania has some laws against casino table gaming but the state regulating gaming board states that if the casino games are managed by computers, then they are in the same group as slot machines and are legal.
State Senator Patrick Browne said that he personally thinks that the only reason that the state is approving these games is that they are in the electronic format. Browne said that just the use of computer did not mean that the casino were not random in results. The decision permits the Meadows racing track to pursue plans to install sixty electronic casino table games by April 2009. The racino has been losing a lot of customers to West Virginia casino facilities, which have legal casino table games.
Some industry observers called for a decisive legislative action to stop the charade and permit casino tale gaming. Union member Rodney Polawski stated that the only difference between these electronic casino games and the real thing is the jobs that they are not giving to residents in the area. Aside from that, cheating is simpler with computer games.
Mike Graninger, the general manager of the Meadows, stated he would like to fulfill demands for casino table games but the law still prohibits live casino dealers. He added that they cannot change the law but they can do everything in their power to provide their customers with an interesting alternative as close to casino table games as you will see anywhere.
Sunday, April 12 , 2009
Thomas Johnson