HARRISBURG -- A House committee today approved a bill to let slots casinos add table games, despite complaints from Republicans that legislators are rushing too fast on the issue and complaints from casinos that the proposed tax rate on table game revenue is too high.

The House Gaming Oversight Committee, with 14 Democrats voting yes and 11 Republicans voting no, approved a major amendment to Senate Bill 711, which passed the Senate three months ago.

The amendment would allow racetrack casinos and stand-alone casinos in Pennsylvania to add up to 200 table games, such as blackjack, roulette and poker. It would also allow the two authorized resort hotel casinos to have up to 75 table games, when previously they were allowed only to have slot machines. The addition of table games has renewed the interest of Nemacolin Woodlands Resort in Fayette County to compete for a resort casino license.

GOP Reps. Curt Schroder of Chester, Mike Vereb of Montgomery and Paul Clymer of Bucks vociferously complained that the Democrat-run House panel was combining two issues that shouldn't be combined -- mixing legalization of table games with the issue of "reforming'' Act 71 of 2004, which legalized slots.

Senate Bill 711, as written and approved by the Republican-run Senate, pertained only to what senators called "reforms'' of gaming, such as banning casino officials from making political contributions to state politicians, banning Gaming Control Board members from holding outside employment, and preventing state gaming officials from going to work for casinos for two years after they left state employment.

But Rep. Dante Santoni, D-Berks, chairman of the House Gaming Oversight Committee, and other Democrats decided to add legalization of table games at casinos to the Senate's reform bill.

Both Gov. Ed Rendell and Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, R-Delaware, recently said that reforms to the gaming law should be enacted before table games were approved. But House Democrats decided to make both changes simultaneously, by combining the two issues in one bill.

A $27.9 billion state budget proposal for 2009-10 includes $200 million in new revenue from table games, so Democrats want to act promptly on adding table games to casinos so the state can get that revenue.

However, casino officials are complaining strongly about the 34 percent tax rate on table games which the amended Senate Bill 711 calls for. Casinos say adding table games is labor intensive, because of the need for dealers, floor managers and added security, which cuts down the amount of profit from the games.

Casino officials want a tax rate of no more than 12 percent, and a one-time, upfront table games licensing fee of no more than $10 million. The licensing fee called for in Senate Bill 711 is $20 million.

If the tax rate stays at 34 percent and the fee at $20 million, The Meadows racetrack and casino won't add table games, said spokesman David LaTorre. Other casinos have said similar things recently, which would mean additional jobs at casinos wouldn't be created.

Mr. LaTorre said that if the Legislature doesn't reduce the fee and the tax rate, "It's unfortunate, but we would be unable to move forward with our plans (to add table games and) to provide hundreds of additional jobs for Washington County residents. There clearly still isn't an understanding (in the Legislature) of the financial burden of the proposed excessive fees and taxes. It's simply a non-starter for us."

The full House could vote on the amended Senate Bill 711 as soon as Sunday. If it's approved, it has to go back to the Senate, where senators could be upset about the changes the House made to the bill.

Stephen Drachler, executive director of A United Methodist Witness in Pennsylvania, sharply criticized the idea of adding table games. He said the church "vociferously opposes the approval of table games at casinos. The church believes it is simply the wrong approach to raising revenue to fund state functions.''

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