Visitors from the island, a palm-fringed getaway destination, line up on weekends to place bets at the prison's cockfighting arena, generating gambling revenue.
The $60 offer generated more gambling revenue than the $125 offer did, and at a reduced cost.
The position paper notes that $37bn in revenue was generated by gambling in the US last year, providing a potentially lucrative source of new corporate members – it lists giant casino operators such as Las Vegas Sands, MGM and Wynn Resorts as potential draws.
The $60 offer generated more gambling revenue than the $125 offer did demonstrating that Harrah's didn't have to spend nearly as much as it believed was needed to boost revenues.
Indeed, Nevadans, content to rely on the $600 million a year in taxes and fees generated by gambling (about 40percentt of the state budget, with sales tax accounting for another 40percentt), pay no state income tax and relatively low property taxes compared with neighboring states like California.
With the Supreme Court granting each state the authority to legalize sports betting, MLB wants to share in the money generated by gambling.
According to a report in March by the investment bank Bear , Stearns Internet gambling generated $1.6 billion in revenue worldwide in 2000 and is projected to grow to $5 billion in 2003.
Atlantic City's 12 casinos generated $4.8 billion in gambling revenues last year, compared with the $2.1 billion produced by Louisiana's 18 riverboats and racetrack casinos and the $2.7 billion from Mississippi's 29 dockside casinos, according to the American Gaming Association.
And, in an implicit challenge to the governor, the bishops noted that the language on the ballot in November would cite benefits of the measure, and called on the state to do a better job explaining how it would use any revenue generated from expanded gambling.
The state projected a $1.5 billion shortfall for the biennium, and Beshear once again proposed to make up for the shortfall with revenue generated from expanded gambling.
