After the Pennsylvania Supreme Court struck down the tax that paid the state’s casino hosts and sent the issue to the Legislature for a fix, suddenly a whole host of other players have showed up at the table.

Hosts like Chester are desperate for the millions of dollars in tax revenue from Harrah’s Philadelphia Casino and Racetrack, but surrounding non-host communities are now clamoring for a piece of the pie. And Internet gambling activists are trying to squeeze into the mix as well, according to a report in the Allentown Morning Call by Steve Esack and Matt Assad.

“There are 47 counties that currently get no gaming money, and their legislators smelled an opportunity here,” said Rep. John Payne, Chairman of the Gaming Oversight Committee. “That’s the danger of reopening the gaming law.”

The court case originated from the Mount Airy Casino Resort in Mount Pocono, but Harrah’s also filed a lawsuit. Its case was put on hold, while the court considered the first one.

In the wake of the ruling that the fee’s $10 million minimum created uneven tax rates between the smallest and largest casinos and therefore violated the uniformity clause in the state constitution, lawmakers in Harrisburg have seen a failed attempt to levy a flat $12.5 million fee. They talk of another proposed fixed percentage, such as five percent, but like the flat fee, both are increases over the old law.

Harrah’s and eight others are now begging for mercy.

“We are fully supportive of a solution to this that restores payments to our host communities in amounts as approximate to the amounts that were paid prior to the decision. No one is looking for a windfall or to challenge the status quo,” its letter read.

For more on the casino tax issue, see the Allentown Morning Call here.