As the saying goes, everything is bigger in Texas…except gambling. When people think of gambling, places like Las Vegas and Louisiana come to mind (at least to my mind). Texas also comes to mind, but in the sense of, “Man, I wish Texas had casinos. That way I don’t have to drive all the way to Louisiana or Las Vegas to enjoy some video slots or table games.” Texas is not completely absent of gambling. There is the lottery that supports education and a few Native American Casinos, but beyond that Texas does not have an established casino resort economy. There are various reasons across the board for gambling, but there are also anti-gambling ideologies that conflict with any plans to build casino resorts in the Lone Star State. Yes, the main reason for gambling is to generate revenue that the state could use, but we are talking about a billion dollar endeavor that will attract many people from across the U.S. to try out the new casinos. Here are reasons why Texas should legalize casino gambling.

Obviously, Money.

Reference: http://dpsweb.dps.louisiana.gov/lgcb.nsf/b45692794...

According to the Louisiana Gaming Control Board, the Harrah’s Casino in New Orleans generated over $23 million in just the month of May alone. Collectively over the last fiscal year, Harrah’s generated over $274 million in revenue. That’s just from one casino! In less than one year! Imagine having 50-100 casinos across Texas with those numbers! Texas would generate an enormous amount of revenue—revenue which could be used to rebuild the infrastructure, pay the casino resort workers, and fund major projects across the state. We are talking potential billions in revenue. Take out the cost of creation & operation and any miscellaneous expenditures, and the profit is still incredible. Harrah’s had $58 million in expenditures, but that still comes out to $216 million in profit (x50-100 for major Texas cities that build a casino resort). That’s just from the casino! Tack on an arcade for the kids, a golf course, restaurants and bars, and souvenir shops and the possibilities grow.

Employment

References: http://www.coushattacasinoresort.com/about-us/

http://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.tx.htm

The Coushatta Casino resort in Kinder, Louisiana employs over 2,600 people at its facility. This includes table workers, maintenance staff, customer service, wait staff, lifeguards and staff for the pool, staff for any kid-friendly places (arcade, shops, etc.), and much more. Again, multiply that by 50-100, and Texas will have opened up between 130,000-260,000 more jobs for people. With this, Texas’ unemployment rate (currently around 4.4 percent) could see a decrease.

Competition with Neighboring States

I took a trip last weekend to Coushatta. Although the trip was enjoyable, the gambling was another story. I do not play the table games, so my opinion is restricted to the video slots, but dang, it was hard to enjoy playing when you can’t stay on a machine for more than 30 minutes at $20 a pop. The same can be said for L’auberge in Lake Charles, Louisiana where I came out positive on two games (after playing close to 20). Add in the expenses of an eight-hour drive back and forth, gas, food and miscellaneous expenses, and you end up with a vacation that eats up your money. New casinos mean new opportunities to bring in consumers. Betting at the minimum, it is hard for an average person to have a good time at a casino unless they are lucky. Some will hit big wins on minimum bets, but the luck is not universal. Your best bet is to bet the max, which comes out to anywhere from $1.50 on penny machines, to over $10 per spin on the high-dollar slots! New casinos have to loosen their slots in order to drive interest and increase play. At the same time, competitors have to follow suit so that they don’t lose their customers. In the process, more time is spent in the casinos with the loosest slots since the slot play is generous even to the minimum bet players. Customers build up rewards, and the casino generates more revenue because people are willing to spend more to play longer. Competition will not drive prices down, but it will make casino management rethink their strategy if new casinos pop up in a state that previously held zero casinos.

Casinos are fun. The video slots provide a unique form of entertainment that cannot be found elsewhere. Add in a family resort with a pool, arcade, or even a small carnival, and you’ve got a vacation destination that the whole family can enjoy. The kids hit the pool or carnival while the adults hit the casinos for fun, free drinks, and hopefully bags of money. However, that will remain a dream unless the Lone Star State gives the go for the construction and implementation of casinos. Please, Texas, there is money waiting to be made and opportunities to help the unemployed and those seeking another form of entertainment close to home.