http://www.businessinsider.com/city-pens...-chicago-9

Wow, get out of there quick.

Full story:
http://www.businessinsider.com/city-pens...y-2010-10#

This is why you'll see a casino in Chicago in the very near future (my bet, within 5 years), among other drastic measures.

No reason for people to drive 15 minutes to Hammond, Indiana to spend their money earned in Illinois.

(10-13-2010 12:26 PM)HuskieFan84 Wrote:  This is why you'll see a casino in Chicago in the very near future (my bet, within 5 years), among other drastic measures.

No reason for people to drive 15 minutes to Hammond, Indiana to spend their money earned in Illinois.

Yeah, a casino, that'll fix it.

Well.. among other drastic measures as I said, obviously one casino isn't going to fix everything or even a majority of the problem, but giving millions of dollars away each year to Indiana isn't helping.

It's one of the easier fixes they have on the table. They of course have to do a lot more, but it's going to be one of the first big changes, and most obvious to the public.

(10-13-2010 01:56 PM)HuskieFan84 Wrote:  Well.. among other drastic measures as I said, obviously one casino isn't going to fix everything or even a majority of the problem, but giving millions of dollars away each year to Indiana isn't helping.

It's one of the easier fixes they have on the table. They of course have to do a lot more, but it's going to be one of the first big changes, and most obvious to the public.

Sure, because there are no costs associated w/ a Casino either. I mean they've done wonders for Detroit.

Chicago's economy will improve when the Cubs bring home a World Series.....

(10-13-2010 01:56 PM)HuskieFan84 Wrote:  Well.. among other drastic measures as I said, obviously one casino isn't going to fix everything or even a majority of the problem, but giving millions of dollars away each year to Indiana isn't helping.

It's one of the easier fixes they have on the table. They of course have to do a lot more, but it's going to be one of the first big changes, and most obvious to the public.

All for a casino, but only for the libertarian reason. It wouldn't put a hairline fracture in that state's economic woes.

The usual suspects are there (Chicago, Philly, Baltimore, Detroit, Boston, NYC, etc).

But there are some surprises. Houston. Jacksonville. Dallas. Ft. Worth.

State vs. city is a difference, of course it won't put a dent in the state shortfall. There are already casino's in the state, they just aren't as close to Chicago as Indiana's. I'm talking about Chicago's budget problems.

The Hammond, IN casino raked in 50 million in tax revenue in July alone. While it might not be enough to help the state, it would help the city quite a bit. If you think people from Gary, IN are supporting that casino you're naive. That's IL money being spent out of state.

(10-13-2010 03:08 PM)HuskieFan84 Wrote:  The Hammond, IN casino raked in 50 million in tax revenue in July alone. While it might not be enough to help the state, it would help the city quite a bit. If you think people from Gary, IN are supporting that casino you're naive. That's IL money being spent out of state.

You got a link for that? $50M sounds more like monthly gross receipts.

Quote:Chicago raked in $50 million in tax revenue during the month of July

Is from the SunTimes, but I did a little research for you to save you the trouble in case you're not a fan of that paper (you wouldn't be the first.)

Quote:The riverboat gaming law imposes two excise taxes on the casino owners. The riverboat admission tax generated $729.8 million in 2008 and the admission tax generated $81.2 million

Quote:The riverboat casino businesses have paid a total of about $5.9 billion in riverboat wagering tax and about $1.1 billion in riverboat admission tax since 1996. In 2008 alone, the wagering tax distribution to state and local government in Indiana totaled $729.8 million, with the distribution of riverboat admission taxes of $81.2 million.

http://www.ibrc.indiana.edu/ibr/2009/spr...icle1.html

With that number, $50.0 million in a big month seems possible. Holiday weekend, nice driving weather, etc.. I can't say I know what months are popular for gamblers, but it seems reasonable to expect July, when many Chicagoan's are working summer hours and have a half day on Friday.

I'd have to do some more digging to see if the numbers are completely accurate, but given the information we have from the link I provided, obviously it doesn't seem implausible.

(10-13-2010 04:29 PM)HuskieFan84 Wrote:  

Quote:Chicago raked in $50 million in tax revenue during the month of July

Is from the SunTimes, but I did a little research for you to save you the trouble in case you're not a fan of that paper (you wouldn't be the first.)

Quote:The riverboat gaming law imposes two excise taxes on the casino owners. The riverboat admission tax generated $729.8 million in 2008 and the admission tax generated $81.2 million

Quote:The riverboat casino businesses have paid a total of about $5.9 billion in riverboat wagering tax and about $1.1 billion in riverboat admission tax since 1996. In 2008 alone, the wagering tax distribution to state and local government in Indiana totaled $729.8 million, with the distribution of riverboat admission taxes of $81.2 million.

http://www.ibrc.indiana.edu/ibr/2009/spr...icle1.html

With that number, $50.0 million in a big month seems possible. Holiday weekend, nice driving weather, etc.. I can't say I know what months are popular for gamblers, but it seems reasonable to expect July, when many Chicagoan's are working summer hours and have a half day on Friday.

I'd have to do some more digging to see if the numbers are completely accurate, but given the information we have from the link I provided, obviously it doesn't seem implausible.

I looked up the numbers from the state website. Yes, it was several hundred million for the year, but that's from every casino/riverboat in the state. I gotta think there are more than 1 or 2. That means $50M would likely be too high.

(10-13-2010 04:29 PM)HuskieFan84 Wrote:  

Quote:Chicago raked in $50 million in tax revenue during the month of July

Is from the SunTimes, but I did a little research for you to save you the trouble in case you're not a fan of that paper (you wouldn't be the first.)

Quote:The riverboat gaming law imposes two excise taxes on the casino owners. The riverboat admission tax generated $729.8 million in 2008 and the admission tax generated $81.2 million

Quote:The riverboat casino businesses have paid a total of about $5.9 billion in riverboat wagering tax and about $1.1 billion in riverboat admission tax since 1996. In 2008 alone, the wagering tax distribution to state and local government in Indiana totaled $729.8 million, with the distribution of riverboat admission taxes of $81.2 million.

http://www.ibrc.indiana.edu/ibr/2009/spr...icle1.html

With that number, $50.0 million in a big month seems possible. Holiday weekend, nice driving weather, etc.. I can't say I know what months are popular for gamblers, but it seems reasonable to expect July, when many Chicagoan's are working summer hours and have a half day on Friday.

I'd have to do some more digging to see if the numbers are completely accurate, but given the information we have from the link I provided, obviously it doesn't seem implausible.

Looks like they paid 81.2 million in taxes for the entire year. Where did you get 50 million in one month?

I'm not sure where the disconnect is, but from what I quoted, I see a lot more than just the $81 million.

There are two taxes for the casino. The admission tax was $81 million. The gambling tax was another $729.8 million.

You get the admission tax just from the person being there:

Quote:Under the gaming excursion regime, the admission tax is $3 per patron admitted to a gaming excursion. Thus, for every gaming excursion (depending on the excursion schedule of the casino), the casino owner pays the $3 admission tax for each player on board the riverboat casino.

The big revenue comes from the gambling itself though:

Quote:More importantly, the wagering tax has become a major source of funding for the state's property tax relief program.

Quote:In 2008 alone, the wagering tax distribution to state and local government in Indiana totaled $729.8 million,

DrTorch, there are 11 Casino's total, although the Hammond, IN is the closest to the large Chicago market. There is a casino in nearby Gary, IN also. Hammond is by far the biggest of the casino's though.

Quote:Horseshoe Casino attracted a record 570,032 patrons in May, continuing a string of months in which it has attracted more than half a million gaming patrons to its Hammond boat and entertainment venue.

Strong shows at the 2,400-seat Venue theater, improved service and continued adjustments of its gaming mix are driving the strong numbers at Horseshoe, according to Senior Vice President and General Manager Dan Nita.

May revenue totaled $50.7 million, an increase of 8.4 percent as compared to May one year ago, according to the Indiana Gaming Commission.

http://www.allbusiness.com/entertainment...706-1.html

Hammond brings in about half of all revenue, 50 million of 100 million for the month.

I misread.

(10-14-2010 09:47 AM)HuskieFan84 Wrote:  

Quote:Horseshoe Casino attracted a record 570,032 patrons in May, continuing a string of months in which it has attracted more than half a million gaming patrons to its Hammond boat and entertainment venue.

Strong shows at the 2,400-seat Venue theater, improved service and continued adjustments of its gaming mix are driving the strong numbers at Horseshoe, according to Senior Vice President and General Manager Dan Nita.

May revenue totaled $50.7 million, an increase of 8.4 percent as compared to May one year ago, according to the Indiana Gaming Commission.

http://www.allbusiness.com/entertainment...706-1.html

Hammond brings in about half of all revenue, 50 million of 100 million for the month.

Well I could be reading this wrong, but it seems to me to say that the casino's revenue was $50.1M for the month...exactly what I said. This doesn't read to me that it's the revenue that the state collected (i.e. taxes). That obviously would be far, far less.

Anyway, it seems that casinos are the states' way of collecting money for their overspending, w/o just raiding citizens' bank accounts. All things considered, I suppose that's a more palatable choice, although I would hardly say that it's good for a society.

(10-14-2010 12:10 PM)DrTorch Wrote:  Anyway, it seems that casinos are the states' way of collecting money for their overspending, w/o just raiding citizens' bank accounts. All things considered, I suppose that's a more palatable choice, although I would hardly say that it's good for a society.

Yeah, the government makes a lot of money on things they don't want us to do, like drink, smoke, gamble, and possibly pot some day. What would happen if we were vice free?

DrTorch.. I'm not a gambler myself, so I don't really care either way. My point is though, some people do care, and are going to gamble no matter what. There's no reason Illinois, and the city of Chicago, should just let millions of dollars go out their doors every weekend to Hammond, Indiana.

(10-14-2010 12:42 PM)HuskieFan84 Wrote:  DrTorch.. I'm not a gambler myself, so I don't really care either way. My point is though, some people do care, and are going to gamble no matter what. There's no reason Illinois, and the city of Chicago, should just let millions of dollars go out their doors every weekend to Hammond, Indiana.

I agree, but hell, they're doing it right to your west in Davenport as well.

Right to our west? Davenport is like 3 hours away, probably more depending on traffic. If someone is going to take a day trip like that, I'd think they would go to the Wisconsin Dells area or Michigan where there is other stuff to do.

In any case, there are casino's in Illinois, between Davenport and Chicago.