Skill game executives, PAC give Sen. Jarrett Coleman nearly $400,000
State Sen. Jarrett Coleman’s campaign committee received $395,000 from executives and a political action committee affiliated with Pace-O-Matic, the state’s leading provider of skill game terminals found in social clubs, bars and convenience stores, according to his 2025 campaign finance report.
That accounted for more than half of the $748,589 his campaign committee, Patriots for Coleman, raised last year, according to the report filed at the end of January. Coleman, a Republican, represents the 16th District, which includes western Lehigh County and upper Bucks County.
The largest contribution – $250,000 – came from Michael R. Pace, the founder and chairman of Pace-O-Matic. The next largest contribution – $120,000 – came from the company’s political action committee, Operators for Skill PAC.
Skill games, which are more similar to computer video games than slot machines found in casinos, are unregulated and untaxed in Pennsylvania. Like slot machines, however, players can win cash prizes.
Gov. Josh Shapiro and some lawmakers want to tax revenue earned from skill games.
In his budget plan for 2026-27, the governor proposes that the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board oversee skill games. He suggests setting a limit of 40,000 gaming terminals — a reduction from the estimated 70,000 in use statewide — and taxing their revenue at 52%. That would generate more than $2 billion a year for the state, Shapiro said.
A proposal by state Sen. Gene Yaw, R-23, would tax the revenue at 16%. His bill would also require an initial license application fee of $1 million for skill video game distributors, $25,000 for operators and $250 for establishments, and an annual renewal fee. Yaw introduced the bill in November, where it was referred to the Senate Community, Economic & Recreational Development Committee, where he and Coleman are members.
Coleman, who is seeking his second, four-year term this year, did not respond to phone messages left at his office and on his cell phone.
He has advocated that revenue from skill games are essential for groups, such as VFW and American Legion social clubs, to continue operating.
Regarding Yaw’s bill, Coleman told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “I remain opposed to the creation of any new fees on small businesses and especially those that benefit our first responders and veterans.”
In an opinion piece in The Morning Call and other publications last July, he urged fellow senators to vote no on a bill introduced in May by state Sen. Chris Gebhard, R-48, and on “any other legislation that includes the language from this dangerous bill.” He called it “overreach.” The bill, which outlines regulations for skill game terminals, would establish a 35% tax on revenue.
“A framework is needed to help ensure that only legal games of skill are available in establishments, and we need to focus on reducing the number of illegal machines operating across the state,” Coleman wrote.
“But this must be done the right way. We need a solution that does not tax and regulate skill games out of existence. They have served as a lifeline for our small businesses, volunteer fire companies, fraternal clubs, and veterans.”
Gebhard’s bill was referred to the Community, Economic & Recreational Development Committee, where it remains. Gebhard is also a committee member.
In addition to the $250,000 contribution from Michael Pace, Coleman campaign contributions from other Pace-O-Matic executives came from Frank Fina, chief operating officer ($5,000); Paul Goldean, president ($10,000); and Michael Barley, vice president ($10,000). Pace-O-Matic is based in Duluth, Georgia. The contributions came about four months after Coleman’s opinion piece was published.
Pace’s $250,000 contribution to Coleman’s campaign was by far the largest he made to a Pennsylvania elected official in 2025, according to Transparency USA, a nonpartisan, nonprofit that analyzes campaign finance data. Pace’s second largest contribution of $25,000 each went to Gov. Shapiro and Republican Senate leaders Kim Ward and Joe Pittman. Pace last year gave the PAC $2 million and loaned it $1 million, according to Operators for Skill PAC campaign finance reports.
Patriots for Coleman began 2025 with $104,840. The $748,589 raised throughout the year gave the campaign a total of $853,429. It spent $247,090 on campaign costs and other expenses, leaving a balance of $606,339, which will likely be difficult for a Democratic challenger to match for the November election.
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Contributions from individuals totaled roughly $450,000 and from political committees and PACS, about $250,000.
Coleman received a total of $56,800 from members of the Jaindl family: David, owner of Jaindl Farms ($26,800); Luke ($5,000); Adam ($5,000); Zachary, vice president of Jaindl Enterprises ($5,000); and Mark, Jaindl Enterprises ($10,000).
Other major contributors include Charles James Koch, president and CEO of Boston Beer (Sam Adams), which has a brewery in Fogelsville ($10,000); Joseph V. Topper, owner of Lehigh Gas ($20,000); Michael Perrucci, co-founder of Florio Perrucci Steinhardt law firm ($10,000); and John B. Reilly, president of the Allentown developer City Center Investments ($10,000).
(Coleman introduced a bill last year that would require audits of local tax transfers in the Allentown Neighborhood Improvement Zone, which allows developers to use state and local tax dollars to pay down debt associated with real estate projects. City Center Investments has been part of the $1 billion investments made in the NIZ.)
Political committee contributors included PA Future Fund, a PAC affiliated with Republican politico Robert Asher of Montgomery County ($15,000); Friends of Kim Ward ($75,000); 2999 Group, which is affiliated with Robert Green, chairman of Parx Casino, Bucks County ($5,000, plus $10,000 in 2024). Casinos consider skill games as a competitor and have said the games should be taxed at the same 55% rate that casinos are, SpotlightPA reported.
Operators for Skill PAC contributions to Lehigh Valley lawmakers
In 2025, Pace-O-Matic’s Operators for Skill PAC took in nearly $5.7 million and spent nearly $1.3 million, according to its campaign finance reports, with money going to dozens of Republican and Democratic groups and lawmakers.
In the Lehigh Valley, the PAC contributed to campaigns of state Sen. Nick Miller, D-14 ($11,000), and state Reps. Milou Mackenzie, R-131 ($250); Mike Schlossberg, D-132 ($7,500); Peter Schweyer, D-134 ($1,000); Steve Samuelson, D-135 ($1,000); Joe Emrick, R-137 ($250); Ann Flood, R-138 ($500); Zach Mako, R-183 ($1,000).