“The casino business and restaurant business are getting along well on the Coast,” said Joe Lancon, owner and operator of the Biloxi Schooner, the Fisherman’s Harbor and, Famous Joe’s Sports Grill across the street from the New Palace Casino in Biloxi. “When Beau Rivage opened in 1999, I realized they didn’t actually take any business from me, they brought business because of all the people who came in,” said Lancon.

- Joe Lancon, restaurant owner in Biloxi

“With the arrival of riverboat gaming in Metropolis came a tremendous opportunity to make projects become realities that for years had been only dreams. We look forward to the future with great anticipation, as we continue to utilize gaming revenue in the best interest of our community.”6

– Former Metropolis Mayor Beth A. Clanahan
The Facts on Gaming

Casinos have a positive economic impact on communities
It has been shown that casinos expand the overall economy of the host communities. Representatives of the food industry on Mississippi’s Gulf Coast indicate that casinos have brought in more business. With increased tourism numbers and growth in residents, new franchise restaurants have been opening and local favorites are still bustling.1

Researchers at the University of New Orleans examined multiple casino jurisdictions and concluded that “When casinos are developed, all aspects of the local food and beverage business increase: the number of establishments increases, the number of people employed increases, and payroll increases at an even greater rate than the first two.”2

The Minnesota Planning Agency reported in May 1993 that revenues of bars and restaurants in counties with Indian casinos grew by 10.7 percent between 1989 and 1991, compared to 5.4 percent for non-casino counties. Moreover, figures understate the positive effects of casinos, because they do not include revenues of bars and restaurants in casinos themselves. Overall gross business sales in the 10 counties with casinos increased 8.2 percent from 1989 to 1991, compared to 4.9 percent for the rest of the state. There was “no evidence” that any part of the state has suffered economically because of casinos.3

Benefits to local businesses exist both because of new tourism and because casinos increase employment opportunities and incomes in local communities.4

In a recent study by Peter D. Hart Research Associates, among 201 local community leaders in jurisdictions with commercial casino gaming, including racetrack casinos, 75 percent said they would again vote to allow casinos if they could go back and do it over. This study also showed that 85 percent found that casinos generated more tax revenue than they had anticipated or lived up to their expectations. And after taking everything into consideration 58 percent of opinion leaders say that the introduction of casinos turned out better than they expected.5

Casino operators are good corporate citizens giving funds to local charities in the communities they serve. For example, Harrah’s Metropolis Casino across the river from Paducah, Ky., which opened in 1993, has donated a $35,000 delivery truck to a local Meals on Wheels organization, gives $10,000 annually to help with an annual home improvement program and participates in many other charitable activities. Local taxes from that casino have helped develop an industrial park and make improvements to the city electric, water and sewer systems.6

The City of Rising Sun, Indiana, which is home to the Grand Victoria Casino & Resort, established a Regional Foundation in 1994 in cooperation with the casino. The Foundation is funded exclusively through contributions from the riverboat casino. As of June 2003, the Regional Foundation had awarded approximately $13.7 million in grants.

“We feel strongly that the City of Rising Sun, the Regional Foundation, its grantees, and Grand Victoria Casino & Resort, collectively, have made a real difference in the lives of southeastern Indiana residents. We plan to continue our efforts for improvements to the southeastern Indiana region…,” stated Steve Stewart, Mayor of Rising Sun.7

According to a study of two Indian casinos in Minnesota, the many jobs offered by the casinos and other new businesses have led to increases in housing demand in the area. Building permit activity in these areas has increased since the opening of the casinos, and additional housing development is anticipated.8

In both the Onamia and Hinckley areas, large numbers of new businesses have opened near the casinos, adding hundreds of additional jobs over and above the employment provided by the casinos.9

    Sources:
  1. Joey Bunch, “Eateries doing well with help of casinos,” The Biloxi (Miss.) Sun Herald, May 25, 2001.
  2. George Fenich and Kathryn Hashimoto, “The Effects of Casinos on Local Restaurant Business,” paper presented at the International Conference on Gambling and Risk-Taking, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 1997.
  3. Minnesota Planning, Minnesota Gambling 1993.
  4. Douglas M. Walker and John D. Jackson, “New Goods and Economic Growth: Evidence from Legalized Gambling,” Review of Regional Studies 1998, 28(2), 47-69.
  5. Peter D. Hart Research Associates, Inc., Community Leader’s Perceptions, a 2005 white paper prepared for the American Gaming Association.
  6. Illinois Casino and Gaming Association Website
  7. Grand Victoria Casino & Resort news release June 11, 2003.
  8. Nancy Reeves and Associates, The Economic Impact of Grand Casino Mille Lacs and Grand Casino Hinckley on Their Surrounding Areas, for the Mille Lac Band of Ojibwe, 1996.
  9. Nancy Reeves and Associates, The Economic Impact of Grand Casino Mille Lacs and Grand Casino Hinckley on Their Surrounding Areas, for the Mille Lac Band of Ojibwe, 1996.

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