Future Friday, Chapter 1: Casino Gambling in Georgia
I often say that there are only two categories of predictions in politics -those that turn out to be wrong, and those that turn out to be lucky. I try not to make predictions of any sort, but since the political present is pretty awful, let’s look into the future, and try to see around the the curve in the road at what might be coming our way.
As certain as anything can be in politics, your state legislators will be pressured to legalize casino gambling during the next session. The casino interests have not taken their eyes off Georgia, and according to Bill Torpy, “MGM’s James Murren said his company is willing to build a $1.4 billion “integrated resort” that includes a casino, a hotel, a concert hall, restaurants and shopping.
That ‘nexus between entertainment, hospitality and gaming’ is being dangled as a way to pump more money into the HOPE scholarship and to bring new tourists to Atlanta and Georgia, presumably to spend some tourist money in our existing entertainment and hospitality venues.
Torpy also notes that the casino gambling forces have created an unlikely partnership between State Sen. Josh McKoon (described by conspiracy website Alternet as “Georgia’s meanest Republican” and State Sen. Vincent Fort, (an Atlanta Democrat with a liberal opinion for every topic.)
Both McKoon and Fort oppose legalizing casino gambling, and if there was ever anything guaranteed to create trouble in River City, it’s a partnership between those two.
But there are a few big things that have to happen before the youth of Georgia can “get to frittern away their time.” For starters, legalizing gambling would have to be approved by Georgia’s voters, and the issue would have to be approved (by 2/3 majorities) in both the State House and the State Senate. That’s a tall order, even if they hire another three dozen lobbyists.
But the casino interests have one very big advantage, as noted by David Blankenhorn, president of the American Values Institute.
“They never give up,” Blankenhorn said. “No one doesn’t want it as much as they want it…” The opposition just isn’t as “anti-gambling” as the proponents are “pro-gambling.” And the only thing more successful than luck is persistence.
The folks pushing casino gambling have already deployed a platoon of lobbyists, and could ramp up to battalion strength pretty quickly. They’re determined, and have shown a willingness to make campaign contributions. They also have, in Sens. McKoon and Fort, stubborn and vocal opposition.
The if and the when of legal casino gambling in Georgia is not something that anyone who knows what they’re talking about would predict. But the push to legalize it will resume in January of 2017 -that’s a sure bet.
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Mike Hassinger
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Of course casino gaming will be an issue in 2017 as will campus carry and a reduced income tax although it will be difficult to pass as long as Deal (primarily) and Ralston are in office.
If It is legalized, casino gaming should be under control of an individual appointed by a bipartisan legislative committee rather than a Deal appointee or the lotto boss. Additionally, gaming folks should emphasize the overall financial benefit of casinos rather than tying it to HOPE.
Except, generally speaking, the only financial benefits from casino gambling go to the casino owners.
Casinos will pay property tax, state tax, federal tax and will create a bunch of jobs. Employees will also be subject to state and federal tax. One of the key benefits of casino gaming is that unlike the movie industry and the NFL, Ga. taxpayers won’t have to subsidize casinos.
You say that with a lot of confidence, but we don’t really know that do we.
P.S.- I am not opposed to casinos in principle.
Have you heard MGM asking for anything other than the opportunity to operate their business? For example are they asking for a tax exemption on anything they sell? Deal travels the world to entice businesses to Ga. and here is an industry that is asking to come to Ga. and our elected officials won’t let us vote on the issue.
why would they need tax incentives when they run on cashed social security checks?
“cashed social security checks ” You could say the same about the Ga. lotto. The difference is that casinos offer restaurants, retail items, entertainment and also gambling. As for those cashed SS checks, I doubt many conventioneers or other out-of-staters that travel to ATL live on SS checks only.
There’s will be busses of pensioners dropped off for “gaming” in Atlanta, so right there you’ve got a job created– a bus driver!
Let’s not forget the guy who runs the shop where you can pawn your dentures– he’ll be paying property taxes. Think how strong our economy will be once we glean all those kernels from the field!
MGM isn’t a mom and pop business that is going to reinvest revenue in the region. It’s going away, and it’s going to leave us with a shortfall of lotto revenue– something I regret having, but it’s how we’re decided to support higher education.
Contrast this with the wealth Colorado has generated from hundreds of small pot businesses, and how Georgia continues to screw up local breweries. Our legislature is completely clueless about real bottom up growth.
Busses will also drop off conventioneers from downtown hotels. I too favor deregulated craft breweries and legal marijuana. While casinos would add to our economy they are just a small part.
Well do me a solid and get the god-botherers to lay off at the gold dome about alcohol and drugs, and I’ll abandon my principles regarding casino gaming.
You mean create new metro Atlanta jobs like the Braves playing in Cobb County instead of Atlanta (of which there will be none)?
A large majority of casino gamblers will be locals. (If the lobbyists say different, see tax rate observation below.) Casinos will primarily cannibalize jobs, and suck discretionary spending from elsewhere in the metro area.
My support (like that means anything) is contingent on high taxation because casinos will in some measure cannibalize extremely high tax lottery ticket sales of ~40% of the wager. The fact that the lobbyists put forth an extremely low ball tax rate on profits that they promptly increased substantially at the drop of a hat is an indication that there public benefit pronouncements casinos have very little credibility.
The Braves moved to another county so Atlanta may have lost revenue but the state lost none. Jobs created by gaming will be new jobs to Georgia.
Georgians currently travel to Cherokee, Biloxi, Alabama to gamble. It’s time for us to keep that revenue in Georgia. Additionally we will get revenue from conventioneers, from those that come here for sports events and maybe those movie folks will drop a few bucks at a casino.
The state run lotto and casino gaming are quite different. Tax treatment of casinos is something that would need to be worked out. I have not heard any specifics from the industry or supporters in the legislature.
Your first sentence is exactly my point—no net economic gain regionally.
Net new gaming jobs will be but a small fraction of casino jobs. When most of the gamblers are locals, casino revenue is simply spending shifted from elsewhere in the metro area. Revenue and then jobs decrease elsewhere, primarily at competing leisure/entertainment/discretionary purchase businesses. That revenue and those jobs lost are generally those of much smaller businesses than a multi-billion corporation that purchases or suckers from government what it wants.
See below for some information on specifics. The 12% tax rate proposed by the casino industry went to 20% at the drop of a hat. It’s logical to assume anything else out of their mouths is self-serving and enormously fluffed to line their own pockets.
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/casinos-to-georgia-well-pay-more-taxes-if-you-let-/npD7h/
There’s no shame anymore by corporations in suckering Georgia governments—see State Farm asking for $15M for a building they’re just finishing up. Because well, Georgia’s No.1 for business.
It’s the normalizing of new lows, just as conservatives are normalizing new lows by Trump.
while i am not opposed to casinos in theory, it sure does appear that some things they say lack credibility and are self-serving. all i had to read was one sentence from the above quote from the MGM guy, above. “we’re not interested in the slot business”. that’s such an obviously transparent lie. i think casinos make their largest share of revenue from the slots. and sorry, gaming is the slots business. those statements make me more opposed to casinos than i otherwise would be.
I’m fine with casinos. I’m not fine with government being suckered by the self-serving liars.
The opposition in your linked article is the same old religious crowd that opposed Sunday sales. I ignore that crowd.
You talk of “spending shifted from elsewhere in the metro area” but spending by Georgians is now in Cherokee and more recently, Murphy, NC. The Murphy facility is primarily gaming and was built close to Ga. to attract Georgians.
As for “lost jobs” I am not sure we would lose any jobs although the state monopoly lotto may suffer a little. If the industry wants to pay %20 tax rate than yes, let them pay that rate.
Compare the NFL to the casino business. The NFL demands 200 million for their stadium, gets a state funded parking deck, and than demands a sales tax exemption on Super Bowl tickets. If the casino business makes demands which cost the taxpayers then I will oppose them also.
The link was provided to highlight how big money corporations sucker Georgia governments, not to identify opposition—you indicated you hadn’t yet any knowledge of taxation elements. Is there a better indication that casinos seek to take advantage of government than immediately being responsive to a 67% increase in their proposed tax rate?
Please do please continue to make new arguments. It’s illuminating that a conservative is arguing that big money professional sports taking advantage of taxpayers normalizes casinos doing so.
And what did Georgia do in response to the NFL’s sales tax exemption request? Why normalize it by extending it to events that haven’t yet landed of course, enabling those events to demand something else.
PS – You forgot to mention the new $40M I-285 interchange that state taxpayers may have to buy the Braves.
“It’s illuminating that a conservative is arguing that big money professional sports taking advantage of taxpayers normalizes casinos doing so.”
Not at all. I use the NFL to exemplify what we should not do. Same thing with the Braves. I want businesses that stand on their own without taxpayer support.
You never addressed the revenue we currently lose to out-of-state casinos. You also say you are “fine with casinos” so make your case for the casino industry.
As I said above, this industry is just a small part of what we could do to grow our economy.
What about those of us that frequent Cherokee and Biloxi? Won’t some of that funding stay in-state instead of hopping across our borders?
I am still mystified how our legislators deem the electorate incapable of deciding for themselves on casinos and adding to the local economy, or not. Yet we currently get an amendment vote to levy a sin tax of $5,000 or 1% of gross revenue to each strip bar to create a new bureaucracy in a dotted line assumption that stripping causes human trafficking. I fully expect this amendment to pass as it is obviously for the cheeldrun and promises to stem human trafficking, a prehistoric practice, and has the support of the world’s oldest professionals. Not those, the preachers. I know it is a chicken and egg thing but sex wasn’t a commodity until the shamans made it one. In a true free society an adult should have the right to place a wager or play poker with whom they choose, regardless of the moralistic judgement of others. I’m not sure casinos would even pass in the current Georgia political climate but why do the preachers fear it being put to a public referendum?