HARRISBURG -- Gov. Ed Rendell has upped the ante regarding the legalization of table games at state casinos, saying that if the Legislature doesn't approve expanded gambling by January it could force him to lay off additional state employees.

"I am discouraged" by the length of time it has taken the Legislature to approve Senate Bill 711, which would allow 250 table games at 12 larger slots parlors and 50 tables at two smaller, resort casinos, he told reporters.

When the Legislature, on Oct. 9, finally approved the 2009-10 budget -- 101 days late -- "I never thought that we wouldn't have a table games bill by Dec. 10," he said. "It's insanity. Now I'm beginning to question if we will get a table games bill any time during this fiscal year," which ends June 30.

He said he still hopes to have the House and Senate approve the bill so he can sign it, adding, "I don't think the things keeping (legislators) apart are substantial."

But different disputes continue to delay the process of voting on the bill in the House, which may or may not occur later today.

He said the 2009-10 budget counts on getting $200 million in new table games tax revenue, mainly from having nine or 10 casinos pay a one-time table games fee of $16.5 million. But if that projected money isn't realized, there could be a budget shortfall in January of more than $400 million, because state revenues already have come in $217 million below estimates.

There could be "additional layoffs after Jan. 1 if we have to put money into a budgetary reserve" to reduce spending and compensate for the revenue shortfall, he said.

There are really only two ways to make up for a shortfall, he said -- reducing the number of outside contracts and cutting personnel costs. An alternative to layoffs is "rolling furloughs,'' where each of the state's 65,000 unionized employees would take a different day or two off each month without pay, but so far state unions haven't been willing to go along with that idea, he said.

In November Mr. Rendell announced 271 layoffs of state workers, including many from the Department of Environmental Protection and the State Historic and Museum Commission. That brought the total layoffs for the year to about 720.

Meanwhile, Nemacolin Woodlands' chances of getting a resort hotel casino license have suffered what could be a fatal blow, as two key changes were made overnight to a bill to expand legalized gambling in Pennsylvania.

Senate Bill 711, a table games authorization bill which could be voted on in the House today, no longer expands the number of Category 3, or resort hotel casinos, to four. Instead the current limit of two, which was enacted into law in 2004, will be retained, said Brett Marcy, spokesman for House Majority Leader Todd Eachus.

Also, the bill no longer instructs the state Gaming Control Board to reopen the application period for Category 3 licenses, he said today.

The previous application period closed in July, with only two applicants on record, a convention center near Reading and a resort called Fernwood in the Poconos. They will compete for the last Category 3 license. One has already been awarded, to the Valley Forge Convention Center west of Philadelphia.

Nemacolin and a convention center south of Gettysburg had been hoping the application period would be extended so they could file a Category 3 application.

Some House Democrats decided to drop the extra two Category 3 licenses in hopes of attracting votes in the Republican-led Senate. Republicans generally aren't in favor of allowing additional casinos.

However, the details of the gaming expansion bill still aren't set in concrete. Lengthy debate on the bill is expected today in the House, and changes are still possible. Senate approval is also needed.

Some House members complained yesterday that they hadn't had enough time to study the details of the 182-page bill and didn't want to vote yet.

"We are hopeful that members will have had sufficient time to review (the current wording) so that we can act on it today," Mr. Marcy said.

Legislators have delayed approval of annual state appropriations for Penn State, Pitt, Temple, the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh and 25 other education and cultural entities around the state until they enact table games.

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