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Texas legislator pushes legalized gaming as budget salve
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LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Texas has become the latest state to float the idea of legalizing casinos and using the tax revenues to close what potentially could be an $18 billion budget hole.
Texas House Appropriations Chairman Jim Pitts, a Republican, said Tuesday that legalized casinos in the Lone Star State could bring in $1 billion in the next two-year budget period and $4 billion annually in the future.
"I'm going to look at every revenue enhancer that we can get," Pitts told Texas media outlets covering legislative meetings in Austin, adding that Texans now travel to other states, such as Oklahoma and Louisiana, to gamble.
"We need to grab that money," he said.
The Texas Legislature meets every other year with 2011 hosting the next scheduled session.
Casinos would require a two-thirds majority in the Legislature in addition to majority approval in a voter referendum.
"We believe recent public polls have indicated 65 percent in support of casinos," Union Gaming Group Principal Bill Lerner said. "However, proponent polling data typically looks favorable this early in the process."
Kentucky, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Illinois and Maryland have also considered gaming expansion this year with varying degrees of success. Casinos in Kansas and Ohio are expected to open over the next few years.
Any casino expansion is viewed as beneficial to slot machine manufacturers looking for new markets. Equipment makers expected casino operators to go on a buying spree this year to replace older games, but the replacement market didn't materialize.
Janney Montgomery Scott gaming analyst Brian McGill hasn't listed Texas as a potential new market in a recent report on the prospects for slot machine makers.
"We still see several new properties and markets that are not officially added to the forecast yet, but could be in the next several months," McGill said.
Texas has floated the idea of legalized casinos several times over the past decade.
Last year, Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman Sheldon Adelson visited with lawmakers in Austin when the state was exploring the idea of adding casinos to several markets.
Oklahoma's Indian casinos have expanded greatly in the past few years, drawing steady business from Northern Texas communities. According to Casino City's Indian Gaming Industry Report, Oklahoma's 110 gaming facilities collected $2.9 billion in gaming revenue in 2008, an increase of 18.3 percent.
Meanwhile, Las Vegas-based Pinnacle Entertainment operates the L'Auberge du Lac resort in Lake Charles, La., which draws a heavy customer base from the Houston market and is the company's leading revenue producer.
"If you go across the border (to) Oklahoma and Louisiana, you're going to see Texas cars," Pitts said.
Pinnacle Chief Executive Officer Anthony Sanfilippo said the possibility of Texas adding casinos was one reason behind the company's cancellation of a $305 million second casino for Lake Charles. Still, even if casinos come to Texas, Sanfilippo thought it would be several years before the locations became operational.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Republican leaders have consistently opposed any casino expansion.
Pitts said some forms of gambling wouldn't offer much help in closing the budget hole looming next year. But he said lawmakers should consider allowing slot machines at racetracks or even full-scale casino gambling.
Contact reporter Howard Stutz at hstutz@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3871.
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A.L. YOUNG wrote on May 17, 2010 01:57 PM:
Legal lise gambling, gambling will help our state. Get rid of perry and his buddys. gambling will help our ecomeny and schools just put it in.Put more money in our state and the people that live here.I will be happy to introduce it to galveston texas and run it for texas.GO TEXAS$ Please dont let Texas be behind any more Perrys goverment has lost more money for the state than bush has for our country. Lets debate. A.L. YOUNG 281 7034361
AL wrote on May 15, 2010 07:26 PM: Its about time someone took note of the fact that droves of Texans are going to gamble and spend their money either in Louisiana, Oklahoma or Las Vegas. Rick Perry can stay home watch TV but don't try to control or determine what other Texans do with their money. Tom.Reynolds wrote on May 13, 2010 12:58 PM: This article is obviously trying to put a Nevada spin on this story, by emphasizing that Nevada-based gaming and gaming equipment companies are participating in this expansion. Okay, so Vegas-based gaming companies are opening or already operating casinos in other states. How many local jobs for NEVADANS does that create? The companies may be doing well from their divisions outside of Nevada. But that doesn't necessarily mean NEVADANS are doing well. Other posters in this thread are absolutely right. It is long, long past time to wake up and recognize that Nevadans cannot depend exclusively on casino gaming forever! Joseph wrote on May 13, 2010 12:08 PM: Blame Harry Reid for all of these!! He protects the casinos from competition and discourage diversification of the economy. He is arrogantly proud for shutting the Yucca Mountain Project which would have been the only chance we could diversify our economy. Carlsbad, NM economy is thriving because of the WIPP repository which directly employs more than 14,000 people not to mention the thousands more working because of the benefits the project provides in the community. Other industries don't want to move to Nevada because of the mostly uneducated population. Reid exploited these uneducated people and spread fear among them and used their fear to his advantage to get him re-elected several times. In a few more years, Las Vegas will be like a ghost town with many people moving out because of lack of job opportunities. Visitors volume will constantly go down each year as more casinos are built in other states and countries. Matt wrote on May 13, 2010 09:47 AM: New Mexico casinos will fail if Texans dont have to leave home. Roger wrote on May 13, 2010 09:33 AM: Ralph is 110% correct. WAKE UP Las Vegas, only in your minds do you have a monopoly on the gaming/casino industry. It was insane for other states to sit back and watch LV take in all that gambling money from their residents. Even the casinos themselves recognize the value of spreading their wings and placing casinos in other geographic areas. Think about it, customer won't come to you..then you go to the customer. I was born and raised in Detroit and let me tell you, LV has all the signs of falling and decaying faster. I can hear it now wrote on May 13, 2010 07:29 AM: Steve Wynn is thinking about relocating Wynn headquarters to Dallas... Ralph wrote on May 13, 2010 02:28 AM: So how much longer until Las Vegas becomes a ghost town? Or a city like Detroit? |
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