It’s a classic example of shooting for the stars but delivering stardust. That’s the story of how casino gambling was supposed to create such a windfall of revenue that homeowners would see their property taxes tumble significantly.

Well, guess what? It never happened on that grand scale. Oh, don’t get me wrong; most homeowners benefit by what is called the “homestead and farmland exemption,” but the average savings is less than $200 a year, and as most of us property owners painfully know, $200 is a drop in the bucket compared to the total amount of property taxes we pay.

In the summer of 2004, then-Gov. Ed Rendell and the state Legislature sold the public on the promise that adoption of casino gambling would result in big tax relief across-the-board. The ploy worked. Despite some stiff opposition from some religious groups and organizations, even some legislators, the casino gambling train was gaining a full head of steam thanks to an incredibly inventive and successful marketing campaign.

But the grandiose promises never materialized. Through a companion program, some low-income property-owners and renters do qualify for larger amounts — up to $500 annually — but even this amount pales in comparison to the nearly $3,000 in property taxes that an average Pennsylvanian pays annually, most of it in the form of school taxes.

“Even if you took every dollar of gambling revenue in the state, you would not have enough to offset the $14 billion needed to fully eliminate school property taxes,” said state Sen. Mario Scavello, R-Monroe and Northampton, who was opposed to legalized gambling.

Scavello; Sen. David Argall, R-Schuylkill; Rep. Rosemary Brown, R-Monroe; and Marcia Hahn, R-Northampton, have either introduced or plan to introduce bills to give owners property tax relief.

Sen. John Yudichak, I-Carbon and Luzerne, an original supporter of casinos, said that while it is true that the elderly have been helped some, politicians tended to oversell the degree of help.

Scavello said some of his constituents believe that the state’s 6% sales tax should be raised to eliminate school property taxes, but he said the numbers do not add up. “Even if you doubled the sales tax, you would not have enough revenue to offset school property taxes,” Scavello said.

Scavello also said that many of his colleagues in wealthier district do not hear from their constituents, so they do not feel as if it is a pressing issue.

Scavello, Argall, Yudichak and some other local legislators, such as Jerry Knowles, R-Schuylkill and Carbon, and Doyle Heffley, R-Carbon, said they are constantly being urged to find a way to give tax relief, especially to senior citizens on fixed incomes.

In addition to property tax relief, Pennsylvania lawmakers made another promise with the advent of casino gambling: They said taxes from casinos would help prop up horse racing. Now, that’s a promise kept.

Nearly $200 million annually from slots has been used to fund nearly all of the race prize money (called purses) at the state’s tracks, including the Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono in Plains Township, Luzerne County; Penn National near Harrisburg; and Parx in Bensalem Township, Bucks County.

These subsidized purses attract many out-of-state horse owners and trainers. In fact, a state audit found that almost half of the $173.6 million in race winnings in the state went to nonresidents.

Despite this infusion of subsidized cash, horse racing attendance statewide has fallen almost every year for a decade.

In his budget address, Gov. Tom Wolf suggested that this money would be better spent on scholarships for qualifying students attending Pennsylvania’s colleges and universities, but there are many legislators who are fierce supporters of the racing industry and who believe that it is an economic boon to the state and a major provider of jobs. Most observers believe that Wolf’s proposal will be a tough sell in Harrisburg.

The bottom line is that most property-owners are paying more but not quite as much as they would have if casino gambling were not in the mix. Although there has been a lot of chatter and posturing about shifting education funding away from property taxes, so far I have seen little traction for anything significant in this direction. Many legislators support tax relief, but they admit that the devil is in the details.

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com