HARRISBURG — State lawmakers got overly rosy projections about the jobs being created when they legalized table games at casinos in 2010, the state’s top fiscal watchdog said Wednesday.
The actual number of table game jobs is 40 percent less than a study done by the gaming industry projected.
That’s 6,000 jobs created instead of 10,000 jobs, according to an audit of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. Mohegan Sun Pocono had 409 table game jobs and Mount Airy Casino Resort had 389 table game jobs as of last June.
The lesson is that lawmakers need to do a better job vetting job creation estimates tied to specific legislation, state Auditor General Eugene DePasquale said.
He recommended that lawmakers look to independent agencies such as the state Independent Fiscal Office to make job estimates.
All told, the 12 casinos employ more than 17,000 people.
Pennsylvania legalized table games, such as roulette and blackjack, at casinos at the height of the Great Recession. Table game tax revenue was counted on to plug a deficit in the state budget for fiscal 2009-10.
Lawmakers have debated more recently whether to legalize Internet gambling at casinos.