Tax-averse Republican lawmakers tasked with fixing Pennsylvania’s biggest cash shortfall since the recession are hitting a rough patch over how much more gambling to legalize.

Tuesday was the fourth-to-last day of the fiscal year, and leaders of the House and Senate Republican majorities remained behind closed doors discussing compromise spending and revenue plans.

Gambling has emerged as a key piece of the multibillion-dollar revenue puzzle that Republicans are trying to assemble. However, Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman, R-Centre, said House Republican leaders will not sign off on gambling legislation unless it allows slot machine-style video gambling at thousands of bars, truck stops and liquor license holders.

The Senate has backed a narrower proposal that includes online casino gambling and online lottery play. But Corman said he was trying to find enough support in the 50-seat Senate to pass a compromise gambling bill that includes gambling in bars.

“We haven’t hit critical mass as of yet,” Corman told reporters Monday afternoon.

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