Here's what one Wall Street analyst sees as he surveys the local gaming scene:
-The Pennsylvania gambling market is robust, and there's room for more casinos, including a second one in the city of Philadelphia.
-A second city gaming venue won't have much more impact on Atlantic City than the four existing casinos in the Philadelphia area already have.
-But financing for billion-plus-dollar gambling palaces will be tight in the coming years.
"One billion dollar deals are done for a while," said John Maxwell, managing director of Jefferies & Co. "You're going to see more casinos in New York . . . and possibly gambling in the Meadowlands."
"As far as Pennsylvania, we believe the market will continue to see strong growth," he said. "Demand exceeds supply, and there is room for more supply. The eastern Pennsylvania market is definitely more insulated , but westeren Pennsylvania is more vulnerable because of the new casinos in Ohio."
Maxwell offered this perspective Tuesday at the Pennsylvania Gaming Congress taking place at the Loews Philadelphia Hotel, 1200 Market St. He was among five Wall Street gaming analysts who participated in a morning panel discussion.
Gaming in Pennsylvania has grown vigorously since the first casino - Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs near Wilkes-Barre - opened its doors in November 2006.
By mid-January of this year, Pennsylvania had knocked Atlantic City out of the No. 2 spot, slipping in behind Las Vegas among U.S. gaming markets, based on gross gambling revenue in 2012.
"Pennsylvania has been the paragon of stability," said Jay Snowden, senior vice president of regional operations for Penn National Gaming Inc., one of the applicants for the second city casino license. "The state has been the model."
Last year, Pennsylvania - with 11 operating casinos - took in $3.16 billion from slots and table games. Meanwhile, Atlantic City, which saw the $2.4 billion Revel open last April as its 12th casino, reported $3.05 billion in 2012.
Such explosive revenue growth was highlighted by Pennsylvania Revenue Secretary Dan Meuser in his keynote luncheon address.
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"It's been widely reported that we are No. 2 behind Las Vegas in gross gaming revenue, but we are No. 1 in net tax revenue," Meuser told his audience. "It's been significant growth."
He ticked off the substantial increases seen from 2006 to 2012:
Gross gaming revenue shot up from $454 million to $3.1 billion;
State tax revenue rose from $250 million to $1.4 billion;
About $4.2 billion went toward statewide property-tax relief, and $1.4 billion toward the Race Horse Development Fund;
The economic development and tourism fund got $618 million, and $445 million went to municipalities that host casinos.
Meuser added that $270 million from table-games revenue has gone to the state's general fund. The gaming industry employs more than 16,000 people in Pennsylvania.
"It's clearly making a very positive difference in many Pennsylvanians' lives," he said.
But increasing competition at Pennsylvania's borders - whether from Ohio's four new casinos, or the recent addition of table games at Maryland's three casinos, or casino expansions in West Virginia - was the underlying theme of Tuesday's panels.
New laws and regulations are being passed or updated to prevent the state from becoming complacent or falling behind.
New Jersey's approval in February of Internet gaming from servers housed at casinos in the state poses a new technological threat to gaming in the Commonwealth. A Pennsylvania lawmaker introduced an online gaming bill last month.
At the daylong gaming-industry gathering, other recent legislative and regulatory changes will be discussed, among them the attempt to privatize the Pennsylvania Lottery.
So far, Republican Gov. Corbett's plan to privatize the lottery has been blocked by the state's Democratic Attorney General, Kathleen Kane.
In New Jersey, Republican Gov. Christie plans to privatize much of that state's $2.8 billion lottery, outsourcing marketing and sales to a joint venture in a 15-year deal Christie said could pump $120 million into state coffers.
For the final panel of the day, the six applicant groups vying for Philadelphia's second casino license have been invited to give 15-minute presentations on why their projects are worthy of the license.
The applicants include Market East Associates (Market8); PA Gaming Ventures L.L.C. (Hollywood Casino Philadelphia; PHL Local Gaming L.L.C. (Casino Revolution); Stadium Casino L.L.C. (Live! Hotel and Casino); Tower Entertainment L.L.C. (the Provence), and Wynn PA Inc. (Wynn Philadelphia).
That panel will be moderated by Nicholas J. Hadgis, dean of the School of Hospitality Management at Widener University.
The state Gaming Control Board is expected to take several months to make a decision on the license. Public hearings took place last week at the Convention Center, where individuals and community groups expressed concerns about parking, traffic, crime and other issues that could affect the dynamics of a neighborhood should it land a casino.
Contact Suzette Parmley at 215-854-2855 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
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