Re: Wynn Everett Casino | Everett
Casino owners don't want it, but we can (and do) extract it from them. Build the state the infrastructure and public amenities that we need/want, you get to build your casino.
Leaving it up to a casino operator to do solely what they want is rarely a good idea.
Full legalization brings with it all of the pitfalls that the naysayers have brought up repeatedly. It gives you Atlantic City. Restricting it to one high value license keeps the bar high.
The challenge is that casino operators want none of this. They want to pull you inside, and never have you see the light of day again until you are drained of cash.
This is why Atlantic City remained a wasteland right up to the big casino's on the boardwalk. There was zero interest in investing in the surrounding area, investment that might distract you from dropping money in the casino.
Casino owners don't want it, but we can (and do) extract it from them. Build the state the infrastructure and public amenities that we need/want, you get to build your casino.
Leaving it up to a casino operator to do solely what they want is rarely a good idea.
I tend libertarian so I don't think the government really should have been in the business of picking winners and losers for casino licenses and there should have simply been legalization, but given the government monopoly model chosen we don't have the choice to have small local gambling with local ownership (except using a non-profit model...) so it is worthwhile to talk about as a public issue where the money is going and how the state can best capture and reinvest the gambling revenues to better attract out of state investment and support local redevelopment.
Full legalization brings with it all of the pitfalls that the naysayers have brought up repeatedly. It gives you Atlantic City. Restricting it to one high value license keeps the bar high.