HARRISBURG -- Key players on legalizing slot machines have reached consensus on allowing slots at eight racetracks and four stand-alone parlors statewide. It remains unclear whether Pittsburgh will get a slots parlor or a new racetrack, House Minority Whip Mike Veon, D-Beaver Falls, said Thursday. Western Pennsylvania might eventually get two new gambling venues: either two new tracks or one new track and a stand-alone parlor, Veon said. Track applications are pending in Pittsburgh, and Beaver and Lawrence counties. House Democrats also want to see one or two limited-resort licenses included in the mix statewide, Veon said. That could provide about 500 slot machines to overnight guests of resorts such as Nemacolin Woodlands in Farmington, Fayette County, according to Veon. Each track and parlor location initially would get 3,000 machines -- and eventually could house up to 5,000 machines. Veon's remarks to reporters came after a news conference with Gov. Ed Rendell, who has pushed for the legalization of slot machines to cut property taxes by more than 20 percent statewide. Rendell and Tomlinson said they're hopeful for a vote within two weeks. Veon said slots was an issue when he first arrived in the Legislature 20 years ago. Rendell announced a plan for slots revenue to cut school property taxes nearly a year ago. "For the first time in my 20 years, it's within reach," Veon said. One stumbling block is Sen. Vincent Fumo's insistence that a license be set aside for a slots parlor run by Native Americans. A spokesman for the Philadelphia Democrat said it's not resolved. "What we've been saying all along -- what's important to Vince -- is that we address the possible threat of future competition from full-blown Indian casinos," said the spokesman, Gary Tuma. Sen. Tommy Tomlinson, R-Bucks County, who is sponsoring the legislation in the Senate, said he is not opposed to limited resort licenses, but that Indian gambling "is the only thing I will not agree on." Determining how slots revenue will be divvied up is another key stumbling block remaining before a final vote on the bill. Some lawmakers don't want a vote until an agreement details what would be coming to the regions they represent. Veon envisions a portion of the gambling pot going to the city-county Sports & Exhibition Authority for projects such as completing the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Downtown. He also wants about $15 million a year from gambling proceeds to reduce debt at Pittsburgh International Airport to help keep US Airways in the region. Tuma said he agrees that legislators in Western Pennsylvania still haven't decided whether Pittsburgh should get a new track or stand-alone parlor. "We see it the same way," said Fumo's spokesman. The likely mix, Tomlinson said, is two stand-alone parlors in Philadelphia, one Downtown and another to be determined. The Pittsburgh area also can compete for two track licenses that have yet to be awarded, he said. The state Horse Racing Commission will decide whether track licenses are awarded. Overall, Fumo can live with four off-track sites, but he'd prefer five, Tuma said. A majority of Senate Republicans oppose slots beyond tracks, so any final agreement must include virtually all Senate Democrats and a handful of pro-gambling Republicans.

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