In the stuff I missed over the past couple of travel weeks, was this notice from the NJ that Delaware’s zombie casinos are still hanging around looking for more bailout effort from Delaware’s taxpayers:
One casino executive is hopeful lawmakers will provide relief for the state’s ailing casinos when they return to Legislative Hall in January. But don’t call it a bailout, says Dover Downs Hotel & Casino president Ed Sutor.
Talks about potential long-term fixes to keep the casinos competitive are set to begin by mid-September.
“They (the state) like the jobs created and the revenue,” Sutor said Tuesday afternoon during a quarterly meeting between casino stakeholders, industry professionals and state department of finance.
“They know that if something isn’t done, some of that is in jeopardy,” he said.
(A side note — I’ve been listening to reports on the crisis in New Jersey gambling and without fail New Jersey officials represent their competition as coming from PA and NY. Never Delaware.)
The GA’s real project here is to figure out how to replace this revenue in the long term — not to save a clearly dying business. A business they had a very big hand in helping to its death by protecting the venues that would always have longterm challenges for survival. They had a small window (I think) to extend the life of this industry by opening up venues in more trafficked places, but decided against that. (And here’s a tale of a recent, not-happy consumer experience of a couple from Virginia in the Harrington casino.) A good demonstration of why legislatures should not be making these kinds of business decisions, I think.
If this GA doesn’t have the cajones to make sure there is revenue for transportation projects (a business they are SUPPOSED to be in), then they shouldn’t be meddling in any other business. Their priority is supposed to be in making sure that our roads and bridges are functional and safe — not in making sure that casinos can still operate. Casinos are going belly up in a spectacular fashion in Atlantic City, for cryin’ out loud, there is just no reason to keep throwing good money after bad here.