Under legislation passed by the General Assembly to deal with the budget by undertaking a significant expansion in gambling, the current twelve casinos (seven category 1 casinos located at horse racing tracks, four category 2 casinos located at locations not connected to horse racing tracks, and two category 3 casinos connected to resort style hotels) could get some company.

The proposed legislation, in section 1305.1 beginning on page 570, would allow for ten category 4 casinos in the state, and they could have no less than 300 and no more than 750 slot machines (a category 3 facility can currently have up to 500 slot machines, but the proposal would allow them to apply for 250 more).

So where could these category 4 facilities locate?  They cannot be within 25 linear miles of an existing casino, unless an existing facility wins an auction to own a category 4 casino, which in that case could mean that the facility could be within 25 linear miles of the original facility.  They cannot be in counties where there is already a category 3 facility, so that omits Fayette and Montgomery.  The proposal also notes that a category 4 cannot be in a county of the sixth class that is contiguous to a county that hosts a category 2 facility.  For those keeping score at home, there are four category 2 facilities located in Philadelphia, Allegheny, Northampton, and Monroe counties.  There are 24 sixth class counties (having population of 45,000 to 89,999) and the ones that fit that criteria are Pike and Wayne in northeastern PA (next to Monroe).

The licenses for category 4 facilities are to be auctioned with a minimum bid of $7.5 million.