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Louisiana's casino industry


dimebag1980

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Well, looks like the Shreveport-Bossier gambling market (among other Louisiana gambling markets) dodged the Texas bullet again. Phew that was a close one (again!!) Looks like Texas will most likely not be voting casino gambling in this year.

http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.d...EWS01/611150301

Or did we dodge a bullet? The referenced article mentions that with Louisiana's current tax rate on casino gambling, investment is going to STOP at casinos in Louisiana because no one is willing to invest millions more dollars into their properties when they're paying out the rear to the state!

Louisiana: WAKE THE HELL UP and lower the taxes on this industry! We are losing valuable market share to Mississippi! When - not if - Texas finally votes gambling in, it's all over, Louisiana. WAKE UP and make these changes WHILE YOU STILL CAN!

That's it, I'm off to compose a letter to Blanco. I'm tired of this state being so damned backward!

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^ :lol: It sure is. That's what keeps the "gaming" industry afloat in Louisiana? :lol: Yep, that is funny. Like you said the government better get that fixed before Mississippi evitably explodes and Texas comes along because no one will want to come here once either of those two get established.

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I think that if Louisiana doesn't get its act together and just watches the gaming industry explode in both Texas and Mississippi, there may be only one location that continues to draw a very high amount of visitors; New Orleans. New Orleans has an advantage over cities like Baton Rouge, Lake Charles, and Shreveport in that there are so many other attractions here to still bring in the tourists. No one goes to New Orleans to gamble, they come here for all of the other things, and then gamble while they're here. I could be wrong, but to me it seems like the gaming industry in New Orleans has the most solid future right now, just because gambling is only one of the so many things tourists come here to do.

That said, however, the state really needs to get off their butts and lower the gaming taxes. I view the Texas decision to not vote casino gambling in this year as another chance for this state to do something. But I know, just as everyone does, we're only going to have so many shots to get things done with the gaming industry, and for all we know this may be our last shot altogether.

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I think that if Louisiana doesn't get its act together and just watches the gaming industry explode in both Texas and Mississippi, there may be only one location that continues to draw a very high amount of visitors; New Orleans. New Orleans has an advantage over cities like Baton Rouge, Lake Charles, and Shreveport in that there are so many other attractions here to still bring in the tourists. No one goes to New Orleans to gamble, they come here for all of the other things, and then gamble while they're here. I could be wrong, but to me it seems like the gaming industry in New Orleans has the most solid future right now, just because gambling is only one of the so many things tourists come here to do.

That said, however, the state really needs to get off their butts and lower the gaming taxes. I view the Texas decision to not vote casino gambling in this year as another chance for this state to do something. But I know, just as everyone does, we're only going to have so many shots to get things done with the gaming industry, and for all we know this may be our last shot altogether.

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It also helps that because Harrah's New Orleans IS so big, it draws major gambling events such as the World Series of Poker, every year, which allows the casino and the city to rake in a pretty big chunk of change. The casino draws so many people that Harrah's wanted to nearly double the amount of rooms in their 450 room hotel before it began construction in order to accommodate everyone that was expected to stay there through the year. However that never ended up happening, and the hotel was built as it was originally planned; 450 rooms, 26 stories, 327 feet.

IMG_7298border2.jpg

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Looks like St. Mary Parish is trying to diversify its economy with "gaming" :P

They've been struggling economically for years, and they've now landed the last state license, per BR Advocate.

Is gambling a good addition to the economy? I think that's the questions Louisianans aren't united on.

Face it...there's only so much gambling to go around. Sure, Mississippi could eat up LA's gambling potential. But then along comes GA and FL with legalized gambling, then MS is screwed too. If every state legalized gambling the competition for gamblers would be fierce and the smaller states would lose out. I think restrictions on the gambling industry are necessary.

Think of this scenario: what if LA opened the door wide open to casinos, eliminated all restrictions and fees, and SBC and Lake Charles boomed with hundreds of thousands of Texan gamblers -- we're talking 5 times what goes on today. Texas sees how well LA is doing, thanks to gambling, and legalizes it. Suddenly, SBC and Lake Charles have 5 times further to fall as the Texas gamblers stop coming over en masse.

I think restrictions are a kind of insurance against that happening. If the state keeps the internal market competitive, we'll have fewer, higher quality casinos that will be more likely to withstand interstate competition.

Okay...I'm off my soapbox now. :P

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