Nevada is used to getting WalletHub accolades but here’s one it didn’t want and would probably prefer to see swept under the rug … most 
gambling-addicted state in the U.S. And why not? There are very few states in the country where access to gambling fix, even if it’s playing the slots at a gas station, is so readily available. Nevada leads the nation in casinos and gambling machines per capita, as well as legality of sports betting. It comes in fifth in percentage of adults with gambling disorders and is eleventh in number of gambling arrests per capita.
Gambling addiction bears some proportional relationship to amount of access, although by that yardstick Utah (#47) and Hawaii (#34) should bring up the rear, not Alabama (where gambling is plentiful) and last-place Nebraska. Coming off surprisingly well, given their gaming industries, are New Jersey (#8) and Illinois (#9). If you’re going to be addicted, the best place for it is Mississippi, which garners a number-one rank for ‘Gambling Problem and Treatment.’ Nevada is a relatively mediocre #10 in that category. New Jersey and Illinois are second and third for responsibility. Connecticut is a surprisingly low 37th in addiction (but worst for treatment), while South Dakota, Montana, Mississippi and Louisiana round out the top five. Clearly there’s some work to be done here, especially in Las Vegas, casino capital of America.
* The relationship between REITs and the casino property they own is certain to come under regulatory scrutiny in Missouri, where — thanks to a succession of transactions — Gaming & Leisure Properties is poised to own every casino in the St. Louis market, whether through Penn National Gaming, Boyd Gaming or Eldorado Resorts. (GLPI 
doesn’t own Penn’s River City outright but controls its real estate through a 99-year lease.) Regulators have taken a passive stance on the issue to date but the transfer of Lumiere Place to Eldorado from Tropicana Entertainment may be a GLPI bridge too far. Says gaming attorney Daniel Holmes, “now you have this very real problem where all six physical pieces of land are held by the same entity. It’s an interesting case study on the future of the REIT concept within the gaming industry and how this could be addressed in other markets. I think if GLPI can do this, it could be full throttle for these REITs and nothing changes.”
GLPI isn’t even one degree removed from Penn National, in which it still retains equity, complicating the issue further. “The REIT investors are there for the dividend. Gaming companies operate very, very differently,” 
was GLPI attorney’s Brandon Moore‘s rationalization of the market concentration. Spectrum Gaming Capital CEO Rob Heller calls the founding of GLPI “a brilliant stroke by CEO Peter Carlino,” the former Penn boss now steering the REIT [pictured]. Carlino’s success was quickly emulated at Caesars Entertainment and MGM Resorts International.
Unite-Here isn’t waiting for regulators to weigh in on the latest GLPI transaction. The union opposes the concentration of ownership, saying it will create pressure to reduce wages and scrap capex improvements. Organizing Director Dave Moore poses the $64,000 question: “Who is 
going to be investing in the properties themselves? And if it’s just an operator who doesn’t own the building or land, are they going to be investing in wages or salary?”
GLPI CFO Bill Clifford may have already answered those queries in 2016 testimony before Show-Me State regulators, saying the operators have a vested interest in staying competitive — as does the REIT. “The more revenue they generate, the more my rent goes up. So the very concept that says I’m going to start turning down capital projects … assumes I’m not going to operate in my economic bests interests,” said Clifford.
