The legalization of slots in Pennsylvania has certainly helped to boost tax revenue - as advertised by Gov. Rendell and others who supported the expansion of gambling. But often overlooked in the rush to count the tax "winnings" is that the state-sanctioned slots racket comes with heavy costs.
Along with the tax benefits, slots gambling is wreaking havoc on many lives, including residents who can ill afford to gamble, as Inquirer reporter Suzette Parmley detailed Sunday.
Granted, since the first slots parlor opened in November 2006, Pennsylvania has raked in $1.8 billion in revenue.
The revenue has helped to lower property taxes across much of the state by an average of $190 for each homeowner. In Philadelphia, the gambling proceeds have been used to trim the city's wage tax, putting an extra $119 in the pocket of a resident making $50,000.
The seven slots parlors in operation have also created 6,500 jobs. More tax revenue and jobs are expected when the other planned seven slots parlors open, including two in Philadelphia.
So at first blush, the legalization of slots appears to be a winner for the state. But the $1.8 billion that has come to state coffers was generated by slots gamblers who have lost more than $2.4 billion. That's an average loss of $249 for every adult in Pennsylvania - which is more than the property tax rebates.
Many of those losses bring increased social costs. For example, there has been a sharp rise in gambling addicts. Many are older and don't have the money to spare.
Their stories aren't pretty. But they are the faces behind the state's slots jackpot. They include:
Shirley Dennis, 58, a nurse's assistant, who has become a regular at Harrah's casino in Chester and who says about 75 percent of her $42,000-a-year income has been spent this year at the slots.
Dominic Federici, 61, a retired disability-claims investigator, spends $800 - one third of his monthly pension check - playing slots at PhiladelphiaPark Casino & Racetrack in Bensalem. He's a gambling addict with credit-card debt of $100,000, mainly from playing the slots, who declared bankruptcy in the spring.
Tony Ricco, 72, a retired bus driver and his wife, Mary Ann, 68, have lost $10,000 over the last year at the slots parlor near Pittsburgh. Ricco said their gambling has become an addiction.
In the last year, the number of calls to the Pennsylvania Council on Compulsive Gambling has jumped 39 percent to 1,250 a month. Those numbers will likely continue to climb as more slots parlors open and more people get hooked.
The New Jersey Council on Compulsive Gambling estimates that 20 percent of the customers in Atlantic City are problem gamblers. One study found that each compulsive gambler costs the economy between $14,000 and $22,000, which comes to $280 to $440 for every citizen.
Nevada - where Las Vegas is the casino capital - often ranks at or near the top among states in suicide rates, crime, divorce, individual bankruptcies, gambling addiction and high school dropouts. Look for many of these same problems to increase in Pennsylvania as slots gambling spreads.
So, when Gov. Rendell - who led the charge to legalize slots - touts the increased tax revenue from gambling, remember that those winnings are built on the backs of many losers.