The Off Topic Topic

[garbon]

At the moment over here we have an American gaming magnate wanting to build a massive casino complex around Madrid (humorously nicknamed Euro Vegas), and one of his conditions is his casinos being exempt from the current smoking laws.

Excellent.  So they are not only going to drain the economy of disposable (and not so disposable) income that would otherwise be used to purchase goods and services but they are also going to increase future health care costs.

Why would anyone be opposed to that?

Does money made by a casino evaporate?

[Caliga]

Remember, casinos are evil.

Also, they don't employ anyone locally at all.

[crazy canuck]

Remember, casinos are evil.

Also, they don't employ anyone locally at all.

You are in HR. Do the math.  How much do the local employees/suppliers/contractors earn.  How much does the casino pay in tax.  How much money does the casino take from its customers.  If the last bit is more that the other two bits explain to me how a casino is beneficial when all of those profits go to an offshore bank account.

And that isnt even counting the social costs associated with gambling.

[Eddie Teach]

Remember, casinos are evil.

Also, they don't employ anyone locally at all.

You are in HR. Do the math.  How much do the local employees/suppliers/contractors earn.  How much does the casino pay in tax.  How much money does the casino take from its customers.  If the last bit is more that the other two bits explain to me how a casino is beneficial when all of those profits go to an offshore bank account.

And that isnt even counting the social costs associated with gambling.

Casinos attract tourists, who bring in money to pay those employees, suppliers and contractors as well as other local businesses.

[MadImmortalMan]

They're probably desperate for the tax revenue.

[Caliga]

And that isnt even counting the social costs associated with gambling.

Nobody is forced to go to a casino and gamble.

[Admiral Yi]

My understanding is that local jurisdictions in the US get a much heftier slice of a casino's rake than the existing sales tax.

[The Larch]

This guy has also asked for a gajillion in tax breaks, changes to several other laws (including employment and tax evasion) and a bunch of other stuff. That way I can also become a casino magnate.

[Caliga]

Happens over here too (the tax breaks).

[crazy canuck]

Casinos attract tourists, who bring in money to pay those employees, suppliers and contractors as well as other local businesses.

That used to be the argument.  People often point to Las Vegas of proof that it can work.  But Las Vegas is a special case.  Vancouver has rejected the idea of these sorts of casinos as it was determined that most of the people attending the casino would be local and would be a net drag on the local economy after the one time boost of construction was over.

The problem is that if people want to travel to a casino destination they will travel to one of the already world famous locations for their experience.  The other locations simply drain money away from the local economy with negative social benefit.

[crazy canuck]

And that isnt even counting the social costs associated with gambling.

Nobody is forced to go to a casino and gamble.

And yet they do.

[Caliga]

Yeah, I don't understand it either.  Complete waste of time and money in my view.

[Admiral Yi]

People may not travel specifically to non-Vegas to gamble, but it does give them one additional thing to do if they happen to be going there anyway.

Like the nice lady i talked to outside a Bob Evans in Battle Creek, who had come to visit her son at college or somesuch.

[Caliga]

We have a few casinos around here, and they tend to be visited by people on welfare/disability/social security mostly from what I hear.  If people on the dole want to go to a casino and give some of their money back to the state, then who am I to stop them?

[Admiral Yi]

We have a few casinos around here, and they tend to be visited by people on welfare/disability/social security mostly from what I hear.  If people on the dole want to go to a casino and give some of their money back to the state, then who am I to stop them?

I was just going to say, the primary function of local casinos seems to be to soak up some of the disposable income retirees have sitting around, and give them a way to kill time.