[RP TownTalk] Gambling

Fri Nov 2 13:18:17 UTC 2012

Sue -

While I do not consider myself a politician per se as an elected official I
would be happy to weigh in on the subject (although my opinion carries no
weight on the subject given this is a state issue).  

>From some of the threads I see that people are curious why this is such a
hot topic this election cycle and we are left to wonder about the potential
nefarious reasons behind this.  In my opinion it is about money yes but not
from the sources you suspect and not from the elected officials.  If you
have noticed most EOs have stayed well out of the fray.  Opinions have been
few and far between.  There are two sources pro and con on this issue:

-MGM Grand (pro)

-Other Gaming Establishments primary WV (con)

The issue has been dressed up in a variety of different ways, i.e. arguing
it will hurt or help schools etc.  Fundamentally though this comes down to a
lot of money being pumped into ads from people who have no interest or tie
to Maryland, they just realize if this is built that they stand to lose.  I
do not agree that they will necessarily be hurt - unless they are offering
an inferior product.  We talk about free market economics and here is the
perfect example.  If the WV casinos were offering an equal or better casino
than what is to be built at National Harbor it should not experience a loss
in the customer base.  What the opposition is asking for is protectionist
regulation wrapped up in commercials pretending to care about Maryland or
Maryland education - they don't.  They care about their Profit and Loss
statement and it is more expensive to compete in an open free market than it
is to confuse voters on what they are really voting on.

On the flip side, I am not a huge proponent of gambling.  I personally do
not gamble outside of buying the occasional lottery ticket.  I disagree with
those however that base their comments on the fact that gambling becomes a
regressive tax on the poor.  The way the bill was structured forces MGM
Grand to invest 700mil into a casino.  This is substantial, incredibly
substantial, which is why the competition in WV is flooding the Maryland
market with money trying to defeat it.  Ultimately they know that MGM will
present a tremendous offering and they will be forced to step up their game
if they want to compete...OR spend a few million on television ads telling
people how bad a new establishment will me (and yes of course still come to
WV to gamble).

I base some of my opinion in real experience.  One of our clients owns the
Atlantis down in the Bahamas.  They are the 2nd largest employer next to the
government.  In bad times they employ around 7k people and when the economy
is going well 10-11k.  And yes many of these jobs are service-based jobs at
the lower wage-scales.  What I have found distasteful in the discussion thus
far was people denigrating that employment.  I have the utmost respect for
people who get up every day and earn an honest day's pay regardless of their
pay.  What people have not talked about is the incredible upward mobility in
organizations like this.  Because of the relatively large concentration of
jobs there is enormous mobility upwards and in other areas.  Basically once
an employee proves that they are capable and dependable they have numerous
opportunities available to them.  Organizations like this trust proven
commodities within their own walls before they look to hire on the outside.
So yes, someone may come in making minimum wage cleaning rooms, but a year
later they could be supervising a shift, or in another area altogether.  Ten
years later they could be making six figures in management.  I worked with
numerous people where this was how they got to where they were.

While I am not a huge cheerleader of the MGM Grand, or other large
intuitions like this, I am a fan of job creation.  On a very fundamental
level I am a fan of providing people with opportunity The National Harbor
was created to be an entertainment and convention destination.  It needs
another draw like the upscale casino/entertainment venue that MGM Grand will
build.  Is it a perfect solution - absolutely not, but I am also not going
to be swayed by WV casinos with selfish interests asking people to vote
against their own self-interest.  Everyone claims to love the free market -
let's see it at work and have WV and Atlantic City compete against what is
built in National Harbor, not kill it because of protectionist policies.

Just my 2 cents for what it is worth.

Jonathan

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