There will be yet another push for casino gambling in the Kentucky Legislature, with hopes of getting a constitutional amendment on the 2014 ballot. The move has bipartisan sponsorship. Dan Seum (R) is carrying the ball in the state Senate and Larry Clark (D) is pushing for it in the lower house. As drafted by Seum, the bill would simply permit seven casinos (Clark wants eight). Locations would be set in other, as-yet-unwritten legislation. Horsemen will be beneficiaries of the casino bill, to the tune of 10% of taxed revenues.
“I don’t harbor false hopes, but I’m encouraged that for the first time we’re getting some very meaningful conversations from both sides of the aisle in both houses,” said Gov. Steve Beshear (D, right), who’s been trying to sell the Bluegrass state on casino gambling since 2007.
A growth period in Las Vegas air traffic flattened out in November, ending four months of gains. The problem seems to lie, in part, in service cuts by overseas airlines like VivaAerobus. Several domestic carriers also reported declines, although few as deep as the 13% posted by Frontier. On the flip side of the coin, Spirit Airlines was up 25%, which certainly helped the overall picture.
You know your casino’s small potatoes when its amenities include “a 24-hour, 7-day-a-week convenience store with eight fueling stations.” That’s among the signature attractions of new Osage Casino & Hotel. The small, Oklahoma casino is the latest production of Marnell Architecture, once one of Las Vegas’ leading firms but now seemingly fallen upon evil days.
There’s nothing like the smell of casino money to bring out the greed in surrounding communities.
