Texas Teases
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Texas Teases
Will the Lone Star State join the gaming community ?
Texas Governor Greg Abbott did an about-face before the 2022 midterm elections by saying he would consider legalizing “ a very professional entertainment option ”
The rumors have been going around for quite some time — 2023 could be the year that Texas passes casino gaming legislation . Full disclosure , I was born in Texas and lived my formative high school years in Southeast Texas , only a 30-minute drive from Louisiana ’ s Delta Downs racino and an hour from the casinos in Lake Charles . I want Texas to get this right . And with Texas ’ status as a top state for business and quality of life , I have every belief that they will .
Texas is home to the fourth and fifth most populous metropolitan statistical areas ( MSAs ) in the country — Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston ( 7.7 million and 7.2 million people , respectively ); San Antonio and Austin are both in the top 30 most populous MSAs . Each of these massive MSAs with their existing tourism infrastructure and their growing wealth should be able to support a first-class destination resort casino . In fact , of the top 30 MSAs in the U . S . that permit gaming , each hosts multiple casino gaming facilities within their markets .
However , even with the recent proliferation of skill-based gaming machines and social poker clubs in the state , casino gaming and sports betting are prohibited in the Texas Constitution . That constitution can only be amended through a two-thirds vote of the legislature , followed by voter approval . November 14 was the first day that legislators could file bills for the 88th Legislature , which convenes on January 10 , 2023 and closes on May 29 . In November Senator Carol Alvarado ( D-Houston ) introduced a bill that would legalize sports betting and casino gaming in Texas , but that bill has a long way to go .
So what will the final casino legislation look like ? During the 2021 session , Rep . John Kuempel ( R-Seguin ) and Alvarado filed legislation to permit four destination resort casinos in the state ’ s four largest metro areas : Dallas- Fort Worth , Houston , San Antonio , and Austin . The bill sought to create a Texas Gaming Commission , would have imposed a 10 percent tax on table games and 25 percent on slots , permit the state ’ s federally recognized Native American tribes to offer full-scale casino gaming , permit horse and greyhound tracks to offer gaming , and would have also legalized sports betting .
In that same session , Rep . Joe Deshotel ( D-Beaumont ) filed a bill which provided for nine casino licenses to all be located within 200 miles of the Gulf of Mexico , including licenses for existing parimutuel licensees , all under the Texas Lottery . Levying an 18 percent tax rate on GGR , the funds were to provide funding for coastal protection and assistance for communities hit by catastrophic flooding . That bill received tacit backing of Speaker of the House Dade Phelan ( R-Beaumont ), whose district has been hard-hit by hurricanes in recent years . Both 2021 bills died , and everyone has since had the chance to regroup .
Governor Greg Abbott ’ s pre-election announcement that he would consider “ a very professional entertainment option ” signaled that the issue is on the table . Deshotel is retiring , to be replaced by his former chief of staff Christian “ Manuel ” Hayes . Will the newly elected Rep . Hayes carry on his former boss ’ casino efforts and goal of helping disaster-ridden communities ?
Speaker Phelan hasn ’ t made any public comments on the issue of late , but last December issued a statement saying , “ These issues are best viewed through the prism of being long-term commitments rather than short-term revenue sources , and ( he ) believes they warrant a broader discussion on the economic impact that large entertainment investments can have on a community .”
Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick has a track record of supporting job creation and economic development , and in February 2021 said in an interview on The Chad Hasty Show that “ if you want to pitch your casinos or you pitch your sportsbooks , talk about jobs , talk about tourism .” Could we now see passage of casino bills which incorporate pieces of the previous ones ? Or something different entirely ?
However this turns out in 2023 , I believe the legislature will continue to engage stakeholders and do its homework . I ’ ve spent the last nearly two decades working in the gaming industry and have seen both great successes and myriad mistakes made by well-meaning government entities . Success will be maximized by logical , forward-thinking vision that views resort casinos as major economic engines .
Small thinking and piecemeal legislation will result in undesirable projects with limited economic impacts . A thriving industry which creates good-paying jobs and spinoff benefits in the economy , contributes to communities , and helps the state and localities to meet funding goals is possible , and should be the only acceptable outcome . I am hopeful that this message is being heard in Austin , and that Texas can show the rest of the country how it ’ s done . — Suzanne Perilloux Leckert is managing partner with the Convergence Strategy Group ( convergencestrat . com ) and can be reached at spleckert @ convergencestrat . com .
DECEMBER 2022 www . ggbmagazine . com 23