Just to make sure people understand the ramifications of this proposal, please look at these numbers:

 

$500.9 million - estimated revenue from license fees 2009

40.65% - tax rate on all wagered income (increases to 50.65% in 2013)

 

To make up the licensing fees, Kentucky casinos require $850 million in LOSING bets in one year.

 

Divide that by the 12 proposed casinos - $70,330,000 required in LOSING bets per casino each year.

 

Divide that by 365 days - $192,000 in LOSING bets per casino per day.

 

The average annual household income in KY for 2006 was $37,046.

 

In essence we are losing 5.2 yearly household incomes per day per casino.

 

Multiply that by 12 casinos and by 365 days, we get the equivalent of...

 

 

22,782 households losing 100% of their household income in one years time. And this only covers the license fee - not salaries, mortgages, expenses, etc.

 

 

The question is - will 12 casinos employ 22,782 households within the commonwealth to make up for all the gambling losses?

 

And for those arguing the fact that we will have out-of-state gamblers, I agree. However, when push comes to shove, odds are that at least 50% of the gamblers will be from KY. That brings our household income losses down to 11,391 households. Still seem worth the $500.9 million that the governor is proposing?

 

Remember, these numbers only include the licensing fee.

 

Those are some sobering numbers.

As I continue to research this issue, I'm seeing more and more reasons to encourage everyone to read up on the issues before deciding.

 

West Virginia, Illinois, and Indiana already have gaming. Ohio is already in the preliminary stages of discussion and Tennessee recently voted in a lottery to keep their residents money in state. It appears to me that any out of state money is going to be short term.

 

The reverse side of the argument might better be that since we will soon be surrounded by states with legalized casino gambling, we are forced to follow suit just to protect our turf. This may be necessary but I wouldn't be planning ways to spend all our new found revenue just yet.

 

Still undecided, just pointing out a few more items to consider.

I like the idea of casinos being legalized in KY. I just worry that this will in turn increase the size of our government to try save us for this "crisis" we are in financially.

 

BTW, I thought the lottery was going to save us....

In a perfect world, you are correct, and my concerns would not be valid.

 

However, it WILL become the Commonwealth's problem, and in turn WILL become my problem because I pay taxes to the state.

 

There are too many people who wholly rely on the government and think they are entitled to living off the state. While I am for helping those who need help, I have seen too much abuse in the government's social welfare arena to believe this will be good for the state. I'm not just talking about drug addicts and criminals who abuse the system. I'm talking about the people who threaten to sue Louisville's MSD (sewer system) because their cars flooded in a parking lot located in a flood plain. I sympathize with these people, but I also use the common sense approach to buy insurance in case of problems like this. Besides, I know not to park my car or buy a house in the floodplain.

 

Rockpride, people like you and I do not abuse the government. We know when to walk away from the blackjack table and we know that we are the only ones who can make our lives better. Unfortunately, we are a minority who will end up further subsidizing the lives of those who make the mistakes we protect ourselves against. It is for this reason I am against putting casinos in Kentucky. Those who end up gambling their money away end up living off my paycheck. The fewer people who gamble it away, the less money coming out of my paycheck to support them.

 

 

Interesting points. I too worry that we don't look at the long term effects of our decisions from time to time.

Ohio is already in the preliminary stages of discussion and Tennessee recently voted in a lottery to keep their residents money in state.

This is a good point. You know what will happen as soon as Ohio legalizes expanded gaming? They'll put up a giant casino within a few thousand feet of where one of Kentucky's would have been. And they would likely put up others that would be just accross the bridge from various points in NKY and NEKY. So, if we don't make expanded gaming accessible, Ohio is chomping at the bit to do it for us. And from those facilities we would get...nothing.

^Right, I was making that same point. I'm saying it appears that the best we can hope for is to protect our own turf and recycle our own money. While it may keep us from losing money, I'm becoming convinced there is no windfall involved in this beyond the initial license fees. Would anyone know roughly how much we spend on casino gambling in neighboring states?

I think that different communities' casinos will realize varying types of revenue.

 

For instance, in Louisville, when there is a convention, convention attendees travel to Caesars to gamble. The nearby casino is a factor in the decision making of many planners, because it is an entertainment option. Granted we have the track, but since only one track is open at a time in KY, and Churchill's meets are spring and fall, it leaves a lot of time for planners to perceive Louisville as having limited entertainment for their attendees during the off-track months. In his case, those are hundreds of thousands, if not millions, that are spent in Indiana over the course of the year....just another perspective.

I can't believe they arent putting one in Paducah, but I say bring em on!

 

It is a strategic move, and one that makes more sense than Paducah. The Hoptown one would be booming more than Paducah, I am guessing.

 

In Nashville, there are signs advertising for Metropolis. Those would soon be replaced with Hopkinsville. Not to mention the military base being next door.

Although I'm 100% behind expanded gaming, I'm starting to lean toward the idea of just one casino in NKY. Not sure if two sites wouldn't dilute the pool too much to be viable.

Although I'm 100% behind expanded gaming, I'm starting to lean toward the idea of just one casino in NKY. Not sure if two sites wouldn't dilute the pool too much to be viable.

 

 

What difference would it make other than in profits to the casino owner? If you have the millions of dollars being spent that some are projecting, who cares if it's split between two or even twenty casinos as long as Ky gets it's tax dollars. Also, you'll already be splitting with Indiana and most assuredly will soon split with Ohio. Seems dilution is a inevitable.

This is a good point. You know what will happen as soon as Ohio legalizes expanded gaming? They'll put up a giant casino within a few thousand feet of where one of Kentucky's would have been. And they would likely put up others that would be just accross the bridge from various points in NKY and NEKY. So, if we don't make expanded gaming accessible, Ohio is chomping at the bit to do it for us. And from those facilities we would get...nothing.

 

Ohio is using the same argument to promote their gambling legislation. "KY is going to do it so we need to do it too." Not saying anything is wrong with the argument, it just strikes me as ironic.

Ohio is using the same argument to promote their gambling legislation. "KY is going to do it so we need to do it too." Not saying anything is wrong with the argument, it just strikes me as ironic.

Sort of a "Catch 21."

I say bring it on. But limit the number. I think 12 is to many.

This won't pass, and I for one am glad it won't. I just can't support it, we will get a bunch of promises from the Governor about what this money is going to do, but we will never see it. We promised the children of Kentucky years ago that the KEES money would always be there for them as a way to further education and now the governor wants to start taking that away from Kentucky best students, and then build casinos. The governor has some screwed up ideas in my opinion.

So, with Ohio and TN looking to add casino gambling, KY will not approach the income the governor is saying we will, correct?