Amid the uproar of looming November elections, casino gambling policy in Florida has so gone off the boil. But you wouldn't know that by gambling opponent No Casinos (NC) -- still out there, still flogging its bogus Atlantic City scare story.
Like everybody else, I've largely been ignoring NC's press releases.
Then along came an American Gaming Association reportreleasedTuesday on how much gambling revenue has benefited the states and municipalities that allow it. And it's a ton.
Nationwide, it was responsible for$38 billion in federal, state and local taxes.
That's more than 513 Indian orbiter launches to Mars. It's a larger annual budget than 42 states, it's enough to build and outfit 22 of Cunard's Queen Mary II's, and it's more than enough -- even adjusted for today's prices -- to pay for all of the damage in the United States from 2005's Hurricane Wilma.
Of the $38 billion in total tax revenue, the report concluded, $10 billion came directly from gambling. Worker income and Social Security taxes as well as casino property taxes, and more, accounted for the rest.
Oxford Economics, the firm commissioned to conduct the study for the AGA, saidthe numbers could be conservative.
Actually, go through this study and absorb the numbers for a minute -- $240 billion annually in total economic impact, more than 1.7 million American jobs (more than the airline industry), and it boosts industries by tens of millions of dollars across all sectors of the American economy.
And by the way, when a casino opens, you multiply most jobs times three. Casinos are 24-hour operations. They hire for three eight-hour shifts.
We're talking about 510 commercial casinos operating in 23 states, plus another 474 located on reservations in the 28 states where Native Americans view gaming as a catalyst for economic development.
Then ask yourself how honest it is for No Casinos to gloomily trumpet every casino that goes down the pan -- even a bad one like Biloxi'sMargaritaville.
I am acquainted with the late Margaritaville. Here's a casino built on a shoestring, invisible from the road, lacking good signage -- in fact, lacking even a decent light on its piddly roadside sign. A casino that never advertised, had no hotel and no business plan from day one, that depended entirely on locals yet offered its loyal customers the least amount of free play of any casino in town.
How it stayed open a whole two years is beyond me.
Yet, Paul Seago of No Casinos, speaking of Margaritaville and Harrah's in Tunica, said, "These closings and the loss of jobs should serve as a severe warning to Floridians that expanding gambling is the wrong social and economic policy for Florida.
Look, Paul, a bad business is a bad business, doesn't matter how prime the real estate around it.Consider the little theme parks in Florida that came and got out-wowed by something more modern and then disappeared -- all in the last 50 years. A lot of jobs lost there, too. But does anybody sayMystery Fun House, Pirate's World, Circus World or any of the others were bad for the state's economy?Of course not. Generally, they were victims of changing trends and the owners just couldn't adapt.
For the most part, No Casinos loves to run the demise of Atlantic City by us, as if it has anything at all in common with any tourist center in Florida.
It does not.
Florida native Steve Norton, a semiretired consultant in the casino industry, was involved in the startup of casino gaming in New Jersey, Illinois, Louisiana, Missouri and Indiana, offering what he calls "different styles of gaming product to achieve each state's desired results." In short, he knows what he's talking about.
Norton, by the way, is entirely independent. He isn't working for anyone in Florida or who wants to do business in Florida.
What he told me is this:
"No Casinos looks through magic eyes at a glorious Atlantic City, one that destroyed everything by introducing casinos in 1978.
"They're probably not old enough to actually remember how AC had deteriorated, but it was made very clear in the national media that covered the 1964 Democratic Convention in Atlantic City: no air conditioning, paper bath towels, rats and generally decrepit accommodations greeted the candidates and everybody else in attendance. Atlantic City -- end to end -- deserved the disproportionately bad amount of coverage it got.
"If we made a mistake in the New Jersey legislation that permitted AC to open casinos, it was in following Nevada's free-enterprise gaming model, in placing no limits on the number of operating casinos.
"Most states that have since followed, allowing slots at tracks or full casinos, have generally limited the number of gaming establishments and, frequently, where they could be built.
"And this has been the case in the various Florida bills proposing resort casinos here. I am a native-born Floridian, and I have no problem with those who are opposed to casino gaming. But the fight should be about the benefits and drawbacks of gaming itself, not the unfortunate fate of Atlantic City, that is due to gaming being introduced in AC's primary markets."
Simply put, it's competition that sucked the life out of Atlantic City. The Atlantic City gaming market faces huge challenges today as it adapts to increased competition from new casinos in Pennsylvania, Delaware and New York.
But, it's important to remember what's happened in AC since the first casino opened in 1978:
-- Before casino doors opened, 3 million tourists visited the city. Last year alone, 26.7 million tourists visited -- thats more than the number of people who passed through New York Citys Grand Central Station in 2013.
-- The population of Atlantic County has increased by 46 percent since casinos began operating. In 1977, 189,012 people lived in the county; in 2013 the recorded population was 275,862.
-- The number of businesses in Atlantic County grew by 396 percent since casinos began operating. In 1977, the number was 4,236. In 2013, the county claimed 21,027 businesses.
No Casinos surely knows all this, too. Their press releases are no more truthful than the TV ads for candidates dominating the airwaves. One, two, even three destination casinos in Florida tourist centers aren't going to be victimized by competition. The Legislature has been talking about "one or two" in the whole of the state. The whole of the state -- come on, not exactly Atlantic City.
Meanwhile, the Washington Times reports that Florida's eight Indian casinos again increased nongambling revenue by 25 percent in 2012, far and above the 2.7 percent increase among Indian facilities nationwide.
It was the second consecutive year of a double-digit nongambling increase, driven by the Seminole Tribe of Floridas two Hard Rock hotels and casinos in Tampa and Hollywood, said Alan Meister, an economist with Nathan Associates, which tracks Indian gaming.
Nongambling revenue includes food and entertainment, a proven industry boon led by the larger casinos in Las Vegas.
The Seminole Tribe has been developing this project, this brand, and over time it has been able to leverage it and add more shows and restaurants, said Meister, who is the author of the newly released "Indian Gaming Industry Report" by Casino City, which tracks the performance of Indian casinos in the U.S.
When the election is over, I admit, I hope the Legislature returns to destination resort casinos and revamping the state's gaming rules. There's just no good reason for a state at the top of the hospitality chain to close the door to such an obvious advantage.
Reach Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunshinestatenews.com or at 228-282-2423. Twitter: @NancyLBSmith
