| A sampling of the proposals gives some detail, but does not indicate the amount of political debate that must take place before any actual expansion. There are no shovels in the ground as of yet, just lots of plans and promoters and lots of opposition to every plan. Massachusetts State Sen. Joan M. Menard filed a bill without fanfare yesterday that would authorize casinos in three locations in the state …The Aquinnah/Gay Head Wampanoag tribe…would be granted the casino location in New Bedford. If the tribe declined, it would be opened to commercial gambling companies. David Kibbe, Ottaway News Service, 3-7-03 …Delaware racing officials are angling for the state to legalize gambling on amateur, college and professional sports. Racetracks in Maryland and Pennsylvania are pushing for the introduction of slots, while three tracks in nearby Delaware already have them. …Delaware is one of four states grandfathered out of a 1992 federal prohibition against sports betting, along with Nevada, Oregon and Montana. Thoroughbred Times, 3-20-03 Adding keno to Connecticut's state-sponsored gambling mix could eventually bring in as much as $80 million a year in new revenue to the treasury, but opponents say it could turn bars into mini-casinos. " …A bill that would permit keno at bars and restaurants and "high-stakes" gambling at the state's two dog racetracks is expected to be approved by a key legislative committee today. Rick Green, Hartford Courant, 3-18-03 The rush to gambling is easy enough to understand when one looks at the economic impact. Gambling at casinos and ''racinos,'' racetracks with casinos, generated revenue of $27.2 billion in 2001. Indian casinos generated another $12.2 billion and state lotteries $17.6 billion. Larry Copeland USA Today, Yahoo Business, 3-5-03 Iowa's casino industry generated an overall economic impact of $795 million last year, according to a report presented Thursday to the state Racing and Gaming Commission. The document showed that Iowa's 10 gambling boats and three racetrack casinos paid salaries, wages and benefits that totaled $230 million. Purchases of food, gambling equipment and other supplies represented an additional $251 million in spending, of which 77 percent was paid to Iowa vendors. The casinos paid $217 million in state casino taxes and admission fees, $17 million in federal and state payroll taxes, and $15 million in taxes to cities, counties and other jurisdictions. An additional $65 million was contributed to local governments and charities. William Petroski, Des Moines Register, 3-7-03 Gaming is not the perfect or a permanent answer to budget problems, however. Word continues to come from some jurisdictions that the continued expansion threatens the older jurisdictions. Nevada was seen as economically bulletproof, but is showing signs of being without its bulletproof vest. In a very unique approach, one Nevada legislator is proposing allowing casinos that are unsuccessful in location be permitted to move to another location for another try. The performance of the Nevada gaming industry in recent years has been grim by almost any measure, and few signs exist of a turnaround any time soon, a new University of Nevada, Reno study has found. …profits down dramatically and returns on investments tumbling, the report concludes that Nevada no longer can rely on its gaming industry to be the major contributor of tax dollars. …Since 1996, the ratio of net income to total revenue has fallen nearly 9 percentage points, from 10.6 percent to 1.8 percent in 2002. Rod Smith, Gaming Wire, Las Vegas Review-Journal, 3-11-03 American Indian tribes will more than double the number of slot machines they operate in Northern California in the next few months, "devastating" Reno's gaming industry, a new Deutsche Bank report says. Rod Smith, Gaming Wire, Las Vegas Review-Journal, 3-20-03 Sen. Mike Schneider, D-Las Vegas, has…introduced Senate Bill 271, which would allow casino operators in Clark County to relocate outside of established gaming districts to locations where business would improve. Las Vegas Review-Journal, 3-14-03 Ohio was never very high on my list of gaming states, although Mead Dixon did tell me, in the interviews for "Playing the Cards That Are Dealt," that the first slot machines he saw were in Ohio as a child in the 1930s. The last few months a number of cases have made the news in Ohio. It seems there is some legal charitable gaming that lends itself to criminal activity. Every new case reveals more details in what appears to be a "large" underground industry. Illegal gaming funds have always been the focus of investigators, but this is the first time I have heard of money being funneled to Middle Eastern terrorists. So, if Ohio isn't on your list, maybe it should be. |
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