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| Town Tavern in Nanticoke |
This past Wednesday evening, troopers and enforcement officers with the
state police Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement raided numerous area
bars and taverns seizing scores of video gambling
machines. Raids on bars seemed to be focused in Nanticoke which include the Town
Tavern on Front Street, Ruby’s Inn on Espy Street, The Witch on South
Market Street and American Legion Post 350 on West Broad Street, all in
Nanticoke. At the Town Tavern, John Bushko, the husband of bar owner Barbara
Bushko, stood on the sidewalk watching an LCE officer wheel out four
poker machines from the bar. Bushko, the former mayor of Nanticoke, said the machines are owned by
a vending company with whom his wife splits revenues generated from the
machines. He couldn’t recall the name of the vending company. “The machines just make about $30 a week. The casino takes all the
business,” Bushko said, referring to The Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs in
Plains Township. “Twenty years ago, they used to do really good. Now
they don’t.” Currently, casinos in Pennsylvania are the only establishments
allowed to have permits to operate slot machines. They paid $50 million
for gaming licenses that guarantee their exclusive rights until 2016. Asked why his wife’s bar pays out money to gamblers on winning spins
if he knows it’s illegal, Bushko said, “Everybody who owns these
machines does it. It’s been that way for the past 40 years.” Bushko said he doesn’t intend to have any more gambling machines put in the bar and noted that the city will lose revenue. “In Nanticoke, you pay $100 for each machine” in amusement tax, he said. Bushko said business has been poor lately, and now the small customer draw that the machines had is gone. “Kids go to The Woodlands (Inn & Resort in Plains Township) and
pay $4 a drink. Here, they would pay $1.50 and they don’t come in,”
Bushko said. “It’s time to retire anyway.”
I just don't get it? You can go to the casino and dump hundreds of dollars in the slots, but you can't go to your local tavern, drink a few beers and get paid out if you hit on the video poker machine. What the hell is wrong here? Let me tell you what's wrong here. The greedy bastards in Harrisburg can't find a way to get a cut of the local video poker money so they ban them. Currently, casinos in Pennsylvania are the only establishments
allowed to have permits to operate slot machines. They paid $50 million
for gaming licenses that guarantee their
exclusive rights until 2016. In 2009, then Gov. Ed Rendell announced a proposal to legalize video
poker machines and use the revenues they generate to offer tuition
relief for students attending the state’s community colleges or public
universities. Under the proposal, bars, taverns, restaurants and private clubs,
establishments that have liquor licenses, would be eligible to
have up to five video poker machines. But the bill never came up for a vote. Now it's becoming much clearer! Casino owners weren’t buying
Rendell’s argument that the machines would be “video lottery terminals,”
not slot machines. They would have demanded the state reimburse them
for the $50 million gaming license fees they each paid.
In other words, the greedy casino's put the screws to the State and in turn the State puts the hammer down on the local bar owners. This is a typical case of the big dog beating up the little pooch. I hate this kind of stuff. In my opinion the casino's would not have lost one red cent if the State passed that bill of Ed Rendell's. However, I think there is another underlying factor here. The State of Pennsylvania is the biggest gambling organization in the state. The Pa. Lottery ranks in millions and millions of dollars a year all under the disguise that it benefits senior citizens. HOGWASH! The State has milked its own naive people for years. At first it was with the Daily Number. Now, you have 2 Daily Numbers, 2 Big 4's, The Cash 5, Match 6 Lotto, Mega Millions, Millionaire Raffle, Powerball, Quinto, Treasure Hunt and of course the Scratch Offs. ARE YOU FREAKIN KIDDING ME! This is a sick joke! You can't pay out on a video poker game in a corner bar but the State pays out on all of these games every freakin' day. Some of these local bar's depend on this mere pittance of shekels from these machines to stay in business. Hell, the LCB has done just about everything they can to close our local taverns. The rules and regulations that are put in place really handcuff the owners into actually turning a blind eye to the law now and then. I know a person who operated a local pub and believe me, it was tough to play by the LCB rules. If you noticed I used the past tense of operate here because she closed the place after a year or two. To sum it all up, the State along with their cash cow the casino's are doing everything they can to funnel gambling their way. God forbid if you have a video poker machine or operate a bingo with a license. Don't get me going on bingo!!!!!!
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