Country Crossing rally brings stars to Dothan

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The study talks, “Measuring “Leakage Prevention” The procedure described above eliminates any economic impact from casino spending by Louisiana residents.  However, some Louisiana residents would gamble even if there were no casinos in Louisiana.  Trips to casinos outside Louisiana would create a leakage from the Louisiana economy.  This creates an additional channel for Louisiana’s casinos to impact the state’s economy by preventing this leakage to other states.”  The study tries to measure this but has no established baseline to do so, so it stumbles there.  Some use that argument in Alabama to get gaming here but can’t produce numbers because of no established baseline here either.

The study uses a lot of multipliers or what you might call extrapolating techniques to adjust their figures.  This is very dangerous and is easily skewed when not including all effects on the regional economy and household receipt and expenditures.

The study said that the Casino’s were responsible for a 5,662-job boost from capital expenditures.  The term “boost” means that is was not permanent and the graphs clearly show that there was a marked decrease after the initial excitement.  I don’t see but maybe 50 jobs in the CC Bingo Hall and that is being optimistic.  Over the 12-month period from December 2003 to December 2004 total non-farm employment in the entire state increased by only 5,600 jobs but these are jobs that produce something or provide a service which are not compatible when comparing to casino jobs that produce nor service anything and are simply an intake of economic resources.

Some Casinos also went bankrupt but they did not include the losses in the study from the bankruptcies.  When anyone goes bankrupt in business whether it is restructuring or Chapter 7 money is lost, and on usually a grand scale.  Would have been nice to see the study list that to give a more accurate picture.

The study breaks down the economic factors by “Business Sales” “Household Earnings” “Employment” but I find it odd that they don’t talk anywhere in here about what the companies themselves make which would allow me to see overall how much money is taken out of the local and state economy when compared to the above listed expenditures.

Since I’m limited on space and time I’ll jump to the biggest thing that stands out, they don’t even try to give the impact negatives like the following: 

•  Data is starting to show that problem gambling is becoming a consequence of Casinos and Legalized Gambling.  “The study, conducted by the Picard Center for Child Development at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette, is intended to compare and contrast various degrees of gambling activity throughout the state to determine if gambling is spread statewide or concentrated in specific areas.”  See the 2008 article on the most recent study in Louisiana.  http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/128429.php

•  External and internal Costs were not even touched on.  Here you will find a Study developed for and funded by the Louisiana Legislature in the 1998 Fiscal Session to determine the economic impact of gambling on Louisiana.  A consortium of researchers, led by Drs. Timothy P. Ryan and Janet F. Speyrer of the University of New Orleans, prepared a report for the Louisiana Gaming Control Board.  http://business.uno.edu/dber/gambling1998/GRC5R.pdf

•  And in conclusion the study talk about the boom being short lived and will decline over time as costs increase.  Sorry I can’t paste it since it is a protected study but you may read it here.  http://business.uno.edu/dber/gambling1998/GRC6R.pdf

We really need the study to include the positive and the negative to get an accurate picture of what is occurring.  The study you cited does not even show where they got most of their information although I can guess and some is listed in the document but I see no bibliography.  This study is far from a complete study.

I just cant get out of my mind why 6-8 million people from nothern states drive THRU Alabama to the Florida gulf coast annually. Theres no reason to stop in Alabama but for gas and maybe a burger and a soda. Imagine they may stop for 2 or 3 days. I think thats enough reason to figure out a solution to all of this.

Okay DoctorT, let’s start with a report instigated by several municipalities in Louisiana. I have included a very small portion below. The link:

www.casinosoflouisiana.com/pdf/EconomicImpactReport2005.pdf

An excerpt:
We also used input-output tables to estimate the impact of on-going operations at
these casinos on the MSA in which they are located.  With regard to these regional
impacts we found the following impacts in FY04:
• Casinos in the Shreveport/Bossier region created (1) $1.6 billion in business sales,
(2) $465.3 million in household earnings, and (3) 20,404 jobs in the MSA.
• Casinos in the Lake Charles region created (1) $525 million in business sales, (2)
$141.1 million in household earnings, and (3) 6,278 jobs in the MSA
• Harrahs land-based casino created (1) $506.4 million in business sales, (2) $148.3
million in household earnings, and (3) 6,464 jobs in the MSA.
• New Orleans riverboat casinos created (1) $241.4 million in business sales, (2)
$69.5 million in household earnings, and (3) 2,782 jobs in the MSA.
• Casinos in the Baton Rouge region created (1) $148.9 million in business sales,
(2) $43.5 million in household earnings, and (3) 1,802 jobs in the MSA.
In addition to the impact of on-going operations at the casinos, we also estimated
the impact of capital expenditures by these firms.  Since they began operating in the state,
these facilities have spent over $2.8 billion on capital in Louisiana.  In FY04 alone,
these firms injected $246.2 million in capital spending into the Louisiana economy.  By
way of reference, the new Union Tank Car Company will spend $100 million on their
new plant in Alexandria.

HDK,

I believe if you look at the anti posts you will see that even they are for the CC project just not the Gambling aspect. 

I would encourage you to use yahoo and Google to get some resources to back up your argument.  It is a method accepted in academia and is considered by researchers as the “new library of research”.  Don¡¦t be so close minded.

Of course I¡¦ll back up my argument with studies and references that are anti-gambling because I believe in the research. 

Don¡¦t worry, I won¡¦t attack you personally just your theory. ƒº

DoctorT, my argument comes from the fact that many people have stated higher crime as a reason not to have bingo at CC. But the reality is, a Walmart stores building in our area bring a much higher crime rate than a casino, so no, we aren’t comparing apples to oranges. BTW, last time I went to Walmart they had an armed security guard walking around.

As for debating, you simply don’t want to hear any opinion other than your own. You post “facts” from anti-gambling groups and expect everyone to dispute them. Simply put, you are being naive to believe it just because you did a Google search and found something to reinforce your point. I can do the same thing and we can have this endless debate that proves absolutely nothing.

My point about all of this is this: Bingo is not the reason for CC, entertainment is. But bingo is the economic driver that allows for this project to be built. Without bingo, there will not be a COuntry Crossing, which I truly believe is what you REALLY want. So my question to you is this. Why do you want our area to be stuck with low growth and few opportunities? When will the naysayers step forward and offer an alternative to CC? When can I expect to read about other local industries going on a hiring spree for our citizens? When can I expect to live in a place rule by the majority instead of the righteous minority? When?