Tunica Mississippi Casino
DRA: Communiqué
Museum. Serving as a tour guide was Webster Franklin, executive director of the Tunica Convention and Visitor’s Bureau. Guests were stunned to hear him explain how successful tourism has been in helping the town grow economically since 1992. Since that time more than $3 billion in investments have been made by the casino and gaming industry, which brought with it some 17,700 new jobs. ... “The Delta Regional Authority is continuing to do great things. It was very beneficial to have the opportunity be out in the field to actually see how the funds are being put to use. Having the opportunity to visit with doctors participating in the J1-Visa program and to view the infrastructure development and transportation improvements was very beneficial- not to mention the amazing results and new ideas stemming from tourism revenues in Tunica. From a policy perspective it is rewarding to see the end product of a specific project and its benefits to the community. Our office looks forward to continuing our good working relationship with DRA to better serve the delta region.” -- Brad Thompson, Special Projects Director, Con. John Tanner, (D-TN) ... [Read More]
Chapter 1
Apartfrom employment statistics, there appear to be other financial benefits oflegalized gaming to both the state and local governments. The industry hasearmarked 7.2 percent of its gross revenues for the state’s general fund, and0.8 percent is allocated to the cities or counties that have legalized gaming. [37] In addition, local and private legislation place a 3.2 percent tax on gamingrevenues to benefit local governments for specific public purposes, e.g.,education. [38] Statewide, in fiscal year 1995, over $144.6 million in revenue went to thestate, and over $69 million was allocated to local governments that havelegalized gaming. [39] It has been reported that casinos provide approximately $2.5 million per monthin revenues to Tunica County alone and that from August 1994 to August 1995total profits from Tunica casinos were $46.8 million per month, more than anyother casino in the state. [40] Tunica was also the first market to reach $60 million in monthly revenue and inAug ... [Read More]
Footnotes for Chapt 9 for Gambling in California
27 Promus Companies Inc., "The Do's and Don't of Casino Legislation: Lesson from the Field," 1994, p. 3. ... 26 Steven D. Gold, "Are Casinos a Windfall for State Budgets," State Fiscal Bri ef, no. 30, State University of New York, p. 1. ... 5 Mark M. Quinn, "Social Costs of Casino Proposal Are Too High," Chicago Sun-Times , 4 April 1992, Sec. Forum, p. 16. ... [Read More]
Syphilis in the South
Unitl recently, Tunica Countys economic base has been mainly agricultural. The major employers in 1996 are the casinos, Pillowtex and Battle Farms, a large family-owned cotton and catfish operation. Since 1992, 12 casinos have opened up at the north end of the County. Four of these are no longer in operation ironically, the casinos that have closed down were all located closest to the Town of Tunica. Most of the casino development is now under way several miles out of town. The casinos have provided jobs for many Tunica County residents, but 1995 unemployment in the County (10 percent) was still above the statewide average (6.1 percent) (US Bureau of Labor Statistics 1996). ... [Read More]
Economic Impacts of Gambling
One notable and unsurprising impact is that the casinos took more of the gambling dollars, relative to other gambling enterprises. For most of the casinos, the bulk of revenues came from locals. Some casinos have been good at targeting international visitors and most have appeared to help tourism. But some casinos were placed in locations that were not big destination spots before, hence they did not have a significant impact. There was a boom to local restaurants, but a significant harmful impact on other trade. There were harmful effects like congestion, noise, and traffic. Also, the change in the aesthetics was noted. For the small towns it did appear to slow out-migration. It was difficult to ascertain the impacts to the compulsive gambler. The conclusion was that there was not a casino-led regional tourism boom. ... [Read More]
Chapter 2
Theproblems surrounding the increase of predominately white private academies haveplagued one small community in Tunica County for several years. Most residentsof Tunica County are black, poor, and poorly educated. [104] In Robinsonville, a small unincorporated area in Tunica County, local officialsare planning to build an $8 million state-of-the-art elementary school forstudents in the area. At first glance, the proposed plan would appear todirectly benefit the residents of Robinsonville. But in the area immediatelysurrounding the property where the school is to be built, an upscale residentialdevelopment is also scheduled to be built. [105] This development will undoubtedly attract higher income white families. As aresult, area residents have organized with state and local officials to opposethe school, which many view as another plan to perpetuate the pattern ofsegregation that exists across the region. [106] ... [Read More]
Natchez National Historical Park
As indicated above, Natchez is approximately 100 miles southwest of Jackson Mississippi, 70 miles south of Vicksburg Mississippi, and 90 miles north of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Access via the regional highway network is from U.S. Highway 61 from the north and south, U.S. Highway 84 from the east, and U.S. Highway 65 from the west. The city has a fully-developed urban street system providing access to all NHP properties. The downtown street system is laid out on a grid pattern, with one-way streets alternating direction along both the north-south and east-west axis. This area consists of a variety of commercial and office development as well as hotels and restaurants in the central area, surrounded by residential development. Some of the city’s historic homes are located in this core area although the majority are on the periphery, two or more miles from the center of town. Most access to and within Natchez is by private automobile. Also, tour buses activity is steadily i ... [Read More]
Anatomy of Nonmetro High-Poverty Areas: Common in Plight, Distinctive in Nature
But the biggest nonmetro complex of gambling casinos in the entire country wasadded to the county in the 1990s. These large, elaborate casino hotels employedover 14,000 people in 2000, a number far larger than the county’s totalpopulation of 9,200. The casinos can tap nearby Memphis for many customers, butthey have also become destination resorts, with golfing and other attractions.From 1990 to 2000, the poverty rate for Blacks in the county fell from an astonishing 71 percent to 41 percent (but with no drop forWhites, at 15 percent). Obviously, the decline is good news; however, the mediancounty household income of $23,300 was still more than $10,000 below the nationalnonmetro average. Longstanding high disability rates, low educational levels,and high rates of child poverty associated with one-parent households do notdisappear in a few years, even with a boom of the magnitude of Tunica County’s. ... [Read More]
H.R. 316: Cruises to Nowhere
BUTTERWORTH. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee. It really is an opportunity to be here and the need to preserve undisputed State control of floating casinos to nowhere grows more pressing every day in my State. The floating casino industry has grown considerably over the past several years. Legal authorities, and those involved in floating casinos to nowhere believe that the 1992 fairness amendments to the Johnson Act created a Federal right to operate floating casinos to nowhere. A significant byproduct of this expansion has been a diminished quality of life for increasing numbers of individuals who find themselves in its path. It is nowhere more evident than in my State of Florida where floating casinos threaten to overwhelm our coastal communities. ... [Read More]
Economic Growth from Transportation Improvements?
In the course of the interviews, the officials being interviewed provided numerous direct links between improved highways and job growth. In the counties without gaming, these, typically, were observations such as, "... and the XYZ company moved in here to take advantage of 4 lane highway ... and...". In the other Counties, a typical observation was, "... we knew the casino would need a 4 lane highway but would generate tax revenue in return, so we....". ... [Read More]
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