Worker terminations and VFW struggles follow Harrisburg skill games fiasco

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(The Center Square) - Veterans of Foreign Wars official John Getz Jr. warned posts around Pennsylvania for years that so-called "skill games" were not a reliable long-term revenue source, and now that they are illegal he said it's possible some posts could close.

Meanwhile, Joe Calla's company recently had to pull thousands of its newly illegal machines from venues around the state and issue 60-day notices of termination to 81 employees.

Getz and Calla are part of the multitude affected by state government's protracted failure to devise a way to legalize the machines. They have been bringing in money for years to clubs, bars, military service organization posts and the like, but were declared to be illegal slot machines in a Supreme Court ruling earlier this year.

Even when given an extra 120-day window by the court to come up with a solution, the Legislature and Gov. Josh Shapiro struck out. The window closed Oct. 13.

Getz, state adjutant for the VFW, said some of the posts "relied on them to pay bills," Getz said.

Calla is chief operating officer for Republic Amusements, which has three subsidiaries and overall had thousands of its machines placed in 1,100 locations around Pennsylvania. Because of the court decision, the machines were removed and put in warehouses and the employee termination notices were issued, he said.

"We have been talking to them for six to eight years, asking for this legislation," Calla said of the Legislature. "This should be a top priority."

No change will happen for at least two months.

Voting action on significant issues is almost certainly over for the year. Many lawmakers are up for election on Tuesday, and the newly reconstituted Legislature will not meet in traditional voting session until January.

In the ten days starting Oct. 14 when the Supreme Court ruling took effect, state police visited 8,007 establishments looking for skill games, agency spokesperson Sgt. Logan Brouse said on Wednesday.

Troopers discovered 7,833 locations no longer have the machines. The agency equated that to a compliance rate of about 98%.

"The PSP continues to actively investigate those locations which have not voluntarily removed the skills games. These investigations are active and ongoing," Brouse said in an email.

Lawmakers haven't given up hope of getting something done, come January. However, all of them must wait to see what happens in the general election on Tuesday.

In the two-year legislative session that will end in November, Republicans and Democrats have shared control in the General Assembly. There is widespread speculation that Tuesday's contest will produce either another power-sharing situation or one in which Democrats run both chambers.

Virtually no one is talking about Republicans grabbing both chambers.

"I am reviewing my proposal to see what tweaks I can suggest," said Democratic state Rep. Danilo Burgos of Philadelphia, author of a skill games bill this year that failed to gain traction in the House.

Getting a bill through and signed by the governor early next year, he said, could expand the state's tax base, generate money for road and bridge work, and help small businesses rather than large "Wall Street" corporations.

Shapiro, a Democrat who also is seeking re-election, has consistently called for any legalization scheme to include tax rate of 52% - the same levy placed on casino slot machines.

Republican Rep. Brad Roae of Crawford County said that if Democrats get control of the House, Senate, and governor's office, an agreement around the 52% rate is more likely than if Republicans maintain control of any portion of government.

Another Republican, Rep. Jim Struzzi of Indiana County, said there is still a desire among lawmakers to act on the issue.

"I understand how important they were to our local clubs and small, mom-and-pop businesses," Struzzi, the top Republican on the House Appropriations Committee, said of skill games. "We need to help."