EDITORIAL: Sagging slots

Gone are the days when slot machines were seen as an endless cash cow for Pennsylvania.

And gone are the days when the gambling industry was viewed as recession proof. We now know better.

Reports are coming in from all over the country that suggest gambling is losing its luster in this economy. Even casinos in the meccas of Las Vegas and Atlantic City are suffering.

This merely serves to raise additional questions about the future of the proposed harness track and slots casino for Lawrence County.

The news within Pennsylvania isn’t much better. Casinos already in operation are struggling to make ends meet. This week, The Associated Press reported the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board acted to shore up the finances of the Mount Airy Casino Resort in the Poconos.

And the board did it in controversial fashion. It voted to allow owner Louis DeNaples to put up $15 million, which is intended to pull the casino out of a loan default. In addition, DeNaples is to inject another $1 million every three months to help pay off lenders.

The controversy here deals with the fact DeNaples is not allowed to participate in the day-to-day operations of the casino. He faces criminal charges for allegedly lying about organized crime ties when he applied for, and received, the Mount Airy license.

So it would seem that DeNaples isn’t good enough to run the casino, but he’s good enough to bankroll it.

The gaming board has said it intends to maintain high standards for casinos owners. Then came the embarrassing situation with DeNaples. Now, having him remain close to the action appears to be preferable to letting the Mount Airy casino fold.

One solution would be to attract money from some other investor, but that’s not happening under current economic conditions. Here in Lawrence County, a similar financial circumstance exists with Centaur Inc. and its plans for a harness track and slots casino in Mahoning Township.

Previous financing Centaur had lined up fell through, and now the company is struggling to find a lender, backer or partner. Until then, Centaur won’t be granted license for the slots portion of the project.

The official line is that everything will work out, but the proposal faces a July deadline. After that, the licensing process is reopened and could be awarded to a stand-alone facility somewhere else in the state.

That’s assuming there’s money available for any new gambling operation in the commonwealth.

Lawrence County has been anticipating jobs and revenue from the construction and development of the new casino. But the days pass, and uncertainty lingers. Meanwhile, other developers have their plans on hold as they await Centaur’s fate.

For now, there is little anyone in Lawrence County can do about this situation. It’s a matter of waiting for financial markets to improve. However, we think there’s a lesson here for those who view gambling as a goose capable of laying endless golden eggs. Reality tells a far different story.

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