Highlights of Pennsylvania’s gambling expansion negotiations

Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf and leaders of the Republican-controlled Legislature were discussing legislation to expand casino-style gambling in Pennsylvania – already the nation’s No. 2 commercial casino state – in a bid to help the state government plug its biggest cash shortfall since the recession.

Heavily lobbied legislation under construction behind closed doors involved a jumble of concepts that offer a combination of license fees and taxes on gambling losses.

Competing measures have passed the House and Senate in the last two months. As of Sunday, closed-door negotiations had yet to produce an actual draft of legislation that was part of a wider budget agreement. Any compromise measure would still need approval by both chambers and Wolf. Here is a look at some of the elements under discussion: