By my quick math, assuming a $70 million / year license fee along with an effective tax of 50%, patrons would have to bet and lose $140 million a year just to cover the license fee. With 12 casinos, that makes $1.68 billion bet and lost just to make up the license fee. As of 2006, the population estimate of Kentucky is 4.2 million people.

 

I know out-of-state people will visit these casinos, but if they combined had 4.2 million visitors in a year, each would have to lose $400 just to cover the license fee.

 

Doesn't sound too smart to me... but then again, I won't be one of those losing $400 a year.

 

 

I think people underestimate the amount of people that would visit the Northern Kentucky locations alone. It would really hurt the Argosy and they are or at least were the most popular riverboat casino in the world.

I agree. Newport on the river would be a terrible place for a casino. You would see constant gridlock. 471 and Route would become a parking lot.

 

The good thing about the Jillians location is easy on, easy off of the expressway, and there's nothing else there. Plus with the widening of 12th street, it will be able to handle more traffic coming from Campbell County. Covington is nuts if they turn down this opportunity. I also can't believe that Yung doesn't know something that we don't about this..

 

I totally agree. Yung passed on buying the Belterra a couple years ago b/c he knew KY would legalize gambling. Now he's buying Jillian's and everything around it. It only makes too much sense.

http://www.kentucky.com/454/story/318937.html

The state budget office calculated that 12 casinos could generate $599.3 million in revenue annually within five years.

 

The calculations are based on Beshear's proposed effective tax rate of 50.65 percent of casino revenue after bettors' winnings are paid out. That rate would be the highest in the nation for commercially operated casinos not associated with racetracks.

 

Beshear estimated that one-time fees for the casino licenses could produce $500.9 million for the next fiscal year, which begins in July. In 2010, license fees and the first year of tax revenue could generate nearly $482 million.

 

Tracks would pay $50 million to $100 million for each of their licenses; free-standing operations would be subject to a competitive bidding process that could bring in another $329 million in the next fiscal year, under Beshear's plan.

 

http://www.kentucky.com/news/state/story/318936.html

 

Many -- including Democratic leaders -- even suggested that they might ditch the governor's 136-page companion bill that details how much casinos would have to pay the state, how they'd be regulated and where the tax revenue would be spent.

 

"There's a potential for losing some votes on that," House Speaker Jody Richards, D-Bowling Green, said of that enabling legislation. Richards was the only one out of the five top Democrats not to co-sponsor the legislation, and he was conspicuously absent from Beshear's press conference unveiling the bill.

 

"The Senate election last week put a damper on anybody who was enthused about this," said Rep. Jim Wayne, D-Louisville, referring to the special election in Eastern Kentucky that the Democrats lost despite Beshear's involvement.

 

Wayne said that Beshear, who had been out of state Capitol politics since he left office as lieutenant governor in 1987, has returned to Frankfort a bit rusty.

 

"The governor has not shown a great deal of strength yet. He's not shown that he's politically adept," he said. "In some ways he's like Rip Van Winkle. He's been gone 20-some years."

 

Beshear, meanwhile, will have to muster all of his political might to leverage passage of the constitutional amendment that would allow casinos. Lining up the necessary 60 votes in the Democratic-controlled House will be the first challenge, followed by the even more difficult task of rounding up 23 votes in the Republican-led Senate.

On whether the budget cuts are a political tool to advance gambling, from the article listed above.

 

"I don't call 12 casinos 'limited' expanded gaming," said the Rev. Nancy Jo Kemper, executive director of the Kentucky Council of Churches. Kemper said the wording of the amendment proposed for the November ballot is "totally dishonest."

 

The 93-word question starts with "are you in favor of increasing state financial support for elementary and secondary education," and doesn't mention casinos until the 48th word.

 

"It's attempting to lure people with the carrot," Kemper said.

 

"While it does that, it does so after a lot of politicalization of the issue and tries to play on people's emotions," Hoover said.

I love this idea. I understand the premise of taking money out of people's hands, BUT, we are not the leader in this charge. Gambling is everywhere around us, and they are taking our money. I want the Commonwealth to get its money back. Legalized gambling is the only way. Churchill is talking about a possible hotel and such...how awesome would all of this be? Real estate value will increase, it really is a win, win.

If it passes, it will be very interesting to see whether Laurel or Whitley County gets the casino in my area. On one hand you have Senate President David Williams who has close ties to the Corbin area(Whitley)that may hold the power necessary to get it passed in the Senate. On the other hand, there is a group that has been positioning themselves to get the nod for the London-Laurel Co. area that donated boatloads of money to the Governor's election.....................politics at work at it's best.

I love this idea. I understand the premise of taking money out of people's hands, BUT, we are not the leader in this charge. Gambling is everywhere around us, and they are taking our money. I want the Commonwealth to get its money back. Legalized gambling is the only way. Churchill is talking about a possible hotel and such...how awesome would all of this be? Real estate value will increase, it really is a win, win.

 

I wish everyone saw it like this RP, but they don't.:cry:

I totally agree with you and hope people will open up and accept this idea. IT WILL WORK!:thumb:

I love this idea. I understand the premise of taking money out of people's hands, BUT, we are not the leader in this charge. Gambling is everywhere around us, and they are taking our money. I want the Commonwealth to get its money back. Legalized gambling is the only way. Churchill is talking about a possible hotel and such...how awesome would all of this be? Real estate value will increase, it really is a win, win.

 

That reminds me of a kids argument with parents . . . "But Mom, Dad, everybody is doing it." We don't need this. I will vote against it.

I think we're choosing up sides way too quick. There are many, many questions to be answered before I accept or reject this idea. I'm just real concerned everyone is seeing dollar signs without really doing a thorough study.

 

For instance, what is the saturation point? Many a good idea has went bankrupt once everyone started doing it. Is 12 too many? Can SEKY attract enough Knoxville patrons away from Cherokee to be successfull? NKY from Indiana's existing casinos?

 

How much of this additional income will we be able to attribute to out of state gamblers?

If the bulk is from Kentucky residents, will we not most likely just be diverting money from other retail sources?

 

We really need to think this thing out.

I love this idea. I understand the premise of taking money out of people's hands, BUT, we are not the leader in this charge. Gambling is everywhere around us, and they are taking our money. I want the Commonwealth to get its money back. Legalized gambling is the only way. Churchill is talking about a possible hotel and such...how awesome would all of this be? Real estate value will increase, it really is a win, win.

:thumb:

I think we're choosing up sides way too quick. There are many, many questions to be answered before I accept or reject this idea. I'm just real concerned everyone is seeing dollar signs without really doing a thorough study.

 

For instance, what is the saturation point? Many a good idea has went bankrupt once everyone started doing it. Is 12 too many? Can SEKY attract enough Knoxville patrons away from Cherokee to be successfull? NKY from Indiana's existing casinos?

 

How much of this additional income will we be able to attribute to out of state gamblers?

If the bulk is from Kentucky residents, will we not most likely just be diverting money from other retail sources?

 

We really need to think this thing out.

These are all good points, and ones I have thought about before. For those arguing about destroying families, keep in mind that there are lots of ways for a family to finanically destroy itself, many of them legal methods. If you're just talking gambling, these same people are probably already gambling away their money, beit lottery, bingo, internet gambling, riverboat or illegal means.

The is certainly fiscal merit to the argument of bringing casino gambling to Kentucky. The economic gain is measurable.

 

However, the economic gain created by gambling comes at the expense of moral and social cost. Moral and social cost is immeasurable, but evident.

 

I have seen many cases of the perils of gambling and thus, do not support Governor Breashear's model.

Since one of the arguments for is the jobs that it will create.

 

I would be curious to know if the parts of the state with the highest unemployment is getting their share of casinos? Or if in the plan, simply the rich are getting richer in terms of job opportunities.

For instance, what is the saturation point? Many a good idea has went bankrupt once everyone started doing it. Is 12 too many? Can SEKY attract enough Knoxville patrons away from Cherokee to be successfull? NKY from Indiana's existing casinos?

I can't speak for the rest of the state, but for NKY it's a definite winner. The population base will be much closer to these casinos than those in Indiana. The casino patronage will spill over into our other tourist destinations. Also, the competition between the existing gaming facilities in IN and the new ones in KY can only lead to good things for their customers.

Sounds good to me...I'm all for it. :thumb: