Monte Cristo Gaming · Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania switched off a $2 billion market. We're measuring what comes next.
On October 14, 2026, skill games came out of every bar, club and corner store in the Commonwealth on the same day. This is where we publish what the data says: the market that was, the bills on the table, where we think Harrisburg lands, and what a terminal operator or a location owner could earn when the games come back on.
Free · Independent analysis of public filings · Prepared by Chris Schink, President
$302
Net win per terminal per day at Pennsylvania's licensed truck stops, last 12 months
vs $177 in Illinois · PGCB$2.35B
Annual net win the Independent Fiscal Office modeled for the skill games that went dark
IFO, Feb 202616–52%
The tax rates in the bills on the table, plus a $500-a-month flat fee proposal
Six proposals compared2028–29
Our planning assumption for the first regulated terminals, on Pennsylvania's own Act 42 timeline
Author's viewThe PA Market Report
Pennsylvania After the Skill Games
A 20-page market analysis built from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board's monthly filings, the IFO's modeling and the legislative record. Not a press summary — the arithmetic behind who gets paid under each proposal.
- The regulated route Pennsylvania already runs — 72 truck stops, every operator measured, and what separates the top rooms from the rest
- Every bill side by side — tax rates, machine limits, venues, and the operator-location split nobody has written down
- Where we think it lands — a base case for rate, split, machines per site and timing
- Four ways to size the market against Illinois, and what venue scope does to it
- An investor pro forma for a terminal operator: startup, capital, operating costs, payback and value
- A location-owner pro forma — what a five-machine bar, club or truck stop keeps under each bill
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Independent market analysis · Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
After the Skill Games
What was switched off, where the bills stand and where they land, what Pennsylvania looks like on Illinois's numbers, and pro formas for operators and location owners.
Tools & Research
Run your own numbers.
The same model behind the report, open to anyone. Pick a bill, set your machine count and tax rate, and see what a location keeps or what a route returns.
Tool · Live
PA VGT Revenue Projector
Choose from six proposals — the governor's 52%, SB 756, the Diamond and Yaw bills, the $500 flat fee, or Illinois's rules — then set machines, win per day and your share. Two views: location owner and terminal operator, with a five-year operator pro forma.
Open the projector →Study · Enrolling now
Main Street Revenue Study
When the games went dark, what else went with them? A before-and-after study of ancillary revenue — food, beverage, lottery, traffic — at bars, VFWs, Legions, clubs and c-stores. Your numbers stay private; only combined results are published.
Join the study →Report · Free
PA Market Report
The full 20-page analysis: market size four ways, every bill compared, the operator and location pro formas, risks, and who is positioned when regulation arrives.
Download →Work With Us
If you're planning for Pennsylvania, so are we.
Monte Cristo Gaming is building for the day the framework passes. Three ways to work together in the meantime.
Location owners & clubs
Know where the bills stand and what each one means for your room before you sign anything. Start with the report and the projector; join the study so the Commonwealth sees the full cost of the shutdown.
Join the studyProspective operators
Flat-fee advisory for groups evaluating a Pennsylvania route: market entry, venue strategy, the operator pro forma, and what a winning room looks like — from someone who built one here.
Talk to ChrisInvestors & partners
We are taking investment and partnership conversations for the Pennsylvania opportunity. The pro forma in the report is the starting point; the rest is a conversation.
Start a conversation
Pennsylvania does not need to invent a distributed gaming market. It already runs one, and it works. The fight in Harrisburg is framed as casinos against small business. The arithmetic says something narrower: the tax rate mostly decides what the bar keeps, not what the operator keeps — and the operator's result is decided by the quality of the rooms.Chris Schink · President, Monte Cristo Gaming · 20 years in distributed gaming across Illinois and Pennsylvania
Monte Cristo Gaming (QBFOX, LLC): Illinois Gaming Board terminal operator licensing in process. It holds no Pennsylvania license, and none exists for this business today. Nothing outside casinos and licensed truck stops is legal in Pennsylvania as of this writing. The report, projector and study are independent analysis of public information; they are not legal, tax or investment advice, and not an offer of any security. Must be 21+ to play. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER.