Jon Offredo

The News Journal

DOVER -- A plan to give casinos more than $20 million a year in state aid drew skepticism Wednesday from the General Assembly, with one lawmaker noting the idea has little chance of passing.

"Where are we going to take the money from: schools, public safety, the roads?" asked Rep. Dennis E. Williams, D-Talleyville, a member of the House gaming committee. "There is nowhere for the money to come from."

"This is not a short-term two-year bailout. This is a permanent reduction," he said. "Where do we find that $20 million a year?"

Williams spoke after a meeting of the House Gaming and Parimutuels Committee, which heard details about the proposal passed by the Lottery and Gaming Study Commission last week. The commission recommends that the state help casinos by first covering nearly $10 million in vendor fees paid by casinos, starting next fiscal year.

The state then also would give up $7.2 million in fiscal year 2016 by decreasing its share of table gaming revenue from nearly 30 percent to 15 percent. And the state would lose an additional $3 million by not charging casinos table gaming license fees, also starting in fiscal year 2016.

Rep. Charles Potter, D-Wilmington North, who chairs the House gaming committee, is another lawmaker skeptical of the plan. He voted against the proposal.

Rep. Mike Ramone, R-Middle Run Valley, said he's uncertain how he'll vote on the proposal, which could be introduced as legislation that would only require a simple majority, a factor that he said could help the proposal pass.

Ramone said he might support the proposal if it took less money out of the state budget.

"I clearly think we are giving away too much, especially on the second year out," he said.

Ramone, who sits on the Bond Bill Committee, said he gets a lot of requests for repairing roads, potholes and other expenses, but a $20 million request like this gives him a lot of angst.

"It makes me very nervous that we would be giving away this much money at this point in this economy," he said.

Denis McGlynn, president and CEO of Dover Downs Gaming and Entertainment and Dover Motorsports Inc., said not receiving any money from the state would spell disaster for casinos, leading to potential layoffs, shutdowns of certain operations and a cutback on marketing.

Layoffs, loss of gaming options and a cutback in marketing ultimately would cost the state much more in lost revenue than what they would be shelling out in the current proposal, he said.

The casino's bank loan expires on June 17, and the bank is watching the state's decision, he said. If the bank loan is not renewed, McGlynn said they'd have to shop around with other banks, something that probably won't work out in the casino's favor given its finances, he said.

"Anything can happen, but nothing good," McGlynn said.

Contact Jon Offredo at (302) 678-4271 or at joffredo@delawareonline.com. Follow him on Twitter @jonoffredo.​​