Once upon a time, poker players in the middle Atlantic states of the U.S. looking for live action had to rely on home games, backrooms or Atlantic City to get their fix. But the options are growing quickly, as Pennsylvania and Delaware should both add poker to their slots-only casinos soon.
Recently, Pennsylvania passed legislation that would allow table games, including poker. Casinos that already exist in the state hope to have their table-game offerings up and running in the first or second quarter of the year.
And a recent move by neighboring Delaware means it may have poker games in its casinos, too. This week, Delaware’s House passed a bill that would legalize table games in slot-machine casinos in the state, including poker. The bill is headed to the Senate, and, barring a hiccup, it will become law. There are already poker rooms in the state, but bringing poker to actual casinos would certainly bring with it more play.
West Virginia added table games, including poker, several years ago. New York tribal casinos like Turning Stone, in upstate, are in their second decade of existence.
And as states look to increase revenue at a time when many states are experiencing budget shortfalls, one of the quickest and easiest ways to make money is by legalizing gambling. With the horse-racing industry facing problems in New York, Maryland and Virginia, it wouldn’t be surprising to see moves to expand (New York) or legalize (Md. and Va.) gambling in those places. Pretty soon, a poker player may not even have to leave his or her state to find a live game at a casino.
All of this is bad news for Atlantic City, which has been hit hard by the recession and once relied on its monopoly as an East Coast gambling haven for those who didn’t want to travel all the way to Las Vegas to get their fix. The landscape for poker and gambling in the United States is obviously changing quickly, and it will be interesting to see where it leads in coming months and years.
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