What if they gave a tax and nobody paid?; Fewer comps for video poker?

Just when it seemed there was no line in the sand that casinos wouldn’t draw regarding taxation, gambling halls in Pennsylvania have finally had enough of state levies. Paying $5 million for five years (and $250,000 a year after that) is an offer they could refuse. Lawmakers passed this little “gift” during the most recent session of the Lege and not one casino has taken them up on it. “We did assume the 12 casinos would buy in,” said a legislative aide. Well, it’s time for a reminder that when we assume, we make an ass out of you and me. Stated reasons for the abstention have included that casinos don’t want a 2 a.m. influx of drinkers onto their gaming floors. But money seems to be the primary flashpoint. Penn National Gaming‘s Hollywood Casino won’t expand alcohol service at any price. “The cost associated with it doesn’t make mathematical sense,” added Rivers Casino General Manager Craig Clark. However, in Rivers’ case, the price is negotiable. “I’ve heard $250,000 bounced around. Something like that or below, I think, is realistic. We can’t pay for everything,” Clark told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. That would require the Lege to go back and amend the new law and it’s unclear whether that could get done this year. (Probably not.)

Casinos have been looking for a number of measures to stay ahead of the competition — not that they’ve been hurting. According to the Tribune-Review, the wish list includes “new games, keep free slots play from being limited or taxed and not to ban smoking.” However, judging by recent non-events, they’re not inclined to pay for the privilege.

* Video poker players at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas — and at MGM Grand and The Mirage — are going to have to start earning the free drinks that traditionally come with video poker play. Instead of relying upon the bartender’s discretion, The Cosmo is going to a system whereby the video poker machine will spit out a voucher good for a free drink when a certain amount of play is racked up. MGM Resorts International is being a little more “george”: You get a free drink when you start playing but you have to earn any additional ones. Caesars Entertainment “hasn’t even hinted at considering changing [standard] policy,” reports the Las Vegas Review-Journal‘s Doug Elfman. Depending on your perspective this change either rationalizes the comping practice or removes one more human touch from the casino experience =- probably both.