Jared, I agree the jobs created by a casino generally aren't high paying or necessarily the best. (Though I think some Vegas jobs pay well.) I'd add that casinos can encourage crime and excessive gambling obviously is problematic. I suppose we could say similar things about bars. (I personally enjoy sports bars, but with 3 kids, I don't "go out" as much as I used to.) But bar jobs aren't necessarily high paying/lack benefits, can bring crime, excess consumption is problematic, etc. And like casinos, money is probably better spent on other things. (Crime aside, we could probably make similar arguments about coffee shops or ice cream shops )
Like I said, I'm kind of on the fence with this. Potential crime and problem gambling are issues I see, and a lack of expansion possibilities for the Lansing Center. (Though if the potential casino were to fail after opening, hopefully it is built in a way where the vacant space could be used/converted for Lansing Center expansion. Probably wishful thinking.)
On the positive, along with the scholarships, you mention, I think a potential boom to nearby businesses would be a plus. I suppose the casino could be built on the edge of town (near 96/Lansing Rd or 69/Old 27) but, along with sprawl, it wouldn't benefit downtown as much. Just my two cents.
As an aside, I'm not much of a gambler myself. Ok I have solitaire on my phone, but I'm not good at table games/blackjack, etc. I probably wouldn't visit the casino too much myself (perhaps 1-2 times per year for slots, etc.)
Admittedly I haven't done much research on this, but I'd be interested in case studies of other cities similar to Lansing's size that have casinos near their downtown and the effects good or bad.
Michmatters, good points. It will be interesting to see how the new mayor handles this. Even before Verg said he wasn't running again, I was thinking that this casino (if it ever happens) would be built after Verg leaves office.
I honestly think a small casino in downtown would add a "coolness" as in another entertainment option among night clubs restaurants and sports venues. Jobs in the hospitality business can be good paying that depends on the management. Hotels in Lansing could sell more rooms to people who like having a casino as an entertainment option while visiting a city, workers at those hotels would make more money. I am not sure what crime would increase with a casino. A small casino would not turn Lansing into Atlantic City. Gambling addicts can get started at the corner store. Sick people need healthcare, maybe the casino could help pay for it. The whole Indian Tribe thing is kind of a stretch but the reality is that we took all of Michigan away from the Native Americans so I think allowing them to build a casino somewhere besides their own area in OK with me. Detroit has lots of issues we do not have here. The only other places I have been with casinos downtown are Palm Springs and Amsterdam. In those places the casino is just part of the landscape not really causing any extra crime as far as I know.
I never really liked the location, it would be a good place for a parking structure next to the Lansing Center. I would rather see a casino as part of a first-class hotel. There are many places that could accommodate such a development in Lansing. Indian tribes do not own the casinos in Detroit is that right? Could Lansing get whatever deal Detroit got to build a casino here? I hate to see the Mayor go all limp on this issue. The gaming issue is similar to the MMJ shop issue. The city already has gambling sites[lottery] and places to buy drugs [tabacco and alcohol] that really do addict and kill many people every day on every corner. But in the minds of some people a casino and marijuana [which is not addictive and helps many] are just too much. Now we are a town of closed pot shops look up and down S. Cedar here in REOtown and Old Town, are a lot of empty dark storefronts better than open businesses employing people and paying taxes? Why not have pot shops, and a casino making tax money to pave the streets and improve our schools?
That would be a great place for a hotel/casino it's true and is really where such a development should be built. Take out the city market and there would seem to be enough room. I was kind of thinking about what they should build if there is no casino built on the small area beside the Center. I think that a casino hotel would be just a part of an entertainment district downtown and adults who are faced with gambling choices every day would just have another choice, I don't think that a small urban casino would not really make gambling a greater issue than it is already.
This project had so many strings to pull it never had that "this is going to happen" feeling about it. The site was not the greatest place to put this casino. I am not sure where they would have found space for parking and etc... I think the corner of Grand Ave. and Michigan Ave. would be the best place to build a hotel/casino if Lansing were to get one. There seem to be many casinos up north and in Detroit that are not located on an actual Reservation, just on land that the tribes own, so what was the difference in Lansing? I think Lansing should get to have a casino and I hope the Gaming Commission will provide a better explanation as to why we should not have one.
It sounded to me like the city negotiated the deal and it was easier to build it on city land so the city could collect lease payments. If the price was right I'm sure the casino could have found a parking lot owner who would have sold. With the shutdown going on, there may be a parking lot owner or two who are bleeding cash right now since nobody is commuting downtown and they would be in a position to sell to the casino group or other developer who has some cash on hand.
What a great leader -rumpsky is! When he is history[hopefully he will be before we are!] the tribe and the city should try again. That would be a great way to get people going downtown again, and would also be a plus for conventions and groups picking a place to hold their meetings. I think a small casino in a nice hotel would spark more development Downtown. Did Detroit's casinos require Federal approval?
Comments
Jared, I agree the jobs created by a casino generally aren't high paying or necessarily the best. (Though I think some Vegas jobs pay well.) I'd add that casinos can encourage crime and excessive gambling obviously is problematic. I suppose we could say similar things about bars. (I personally enjoy sports bars, but with 3 kids, I don't "go out" as much as I used to.) But bar jobs aren't necessarily high paying/lack benefits, can bring crime, excess consumption is problematic, etc. And like casinos, money is probably better spent on other things. (Crime aside, we could probably make similar arguments about coffee shops or ice cream shops
)
Like I said, I'm kind of on the fence with this. Potential crime and problem gambling are issues I see, and a lack of expansion possibilities for the Lansing Center. (Though if the potential casino were to fail after opening, hopefully it is built in a way where the vacant space could be used/converted for Lansing Center expansion. Probably wishful thinking.)
On the positive, along with the scholarships, you mention, I think a potential boom to nearby businesses would be a plus. I suppose the casino could be built on the edge of town (near 96/Lansing Rd or 69/Old 27) but, along with sprawl, it wouldn't benefit downtown as much. Just my two cents.
As an aside, I'm not much of a gambler myself. Ok I have solitaire on my phone, but I'm not good at table games/blackjack, etc. I probably wouldn't visit the casino too much myself (perhaps 1-2 times per year for slots, etc.)
Admittedly I haven't done much research on this, but I'd be interested in case studies of other cities similar to Lansing's size that have casinos near their downtown and the effects good or bad.
Michmatters, good points. It will be interesting to see how the new mayor handles this. Even before Verg said he wasn't running again, I was thinking that this casino (if it ever happens) would be built after Verg leaves office.
I honestly think a small casino in downtown would add a "coolness" as in another entertainment option among night clubs restaurants and sports venues. Jobs in the hospitality business can be good paying that depends on the management. Hotels in Lansing could sell more rooms to people who like having a casino as an entertainment option while visiting a city, workers at those hotels would make more money. I am not sure what crime would increase with a casino. A small casino would not turn Lansing into Atlantic City. Gambling addicts can get started at the corner store. Sick people need healthcare, maybe the casino could help pay for it. The whole Indian Tribe thing is kind of a stretch but the reality is that we took all of Michigan away from the Native Americans so I think allowing them to build a casino somewhere besides their own area in OK with me. Detroit has lots of issues we do not have here. The only other places I have been with casinos downtown are Palm Springs and Amsterdam. In those places the casino is just part of the landscape not really causing any extra crime as far as I know.
I never really liked the location, it would be a good place for a parking structure next to the Lansing Center. I would rather see a casino as part of a first-class hotel. There are many places that could accommodate such a development in Lansing. Indian tribes do not own the casinos in Detroit is that right? Could Lansing get whatever deal Detroit got to build a casino here? I hate to see the Mayor go all limp on this issue. The gaming issue is similar to the MMJ shop issue. The city already has gambling sites[lottery] and places to buy drugs [tabacco and alcohol] that really do addict and kill many people every day on every corner. But in the minds of some people a casino and marijuana [which is not addictive and helps many] are just too much. Now we are a town of closed pot shops look up and down S. Cedar here in REOtown and Old Town, are a lot of empty dark storefronts better than open businesses employing people and paying taxes? Why not have pot shops, and a casino making tax money to pave the streets and improve our schools?
That would be a great place for a hotel/casino it's true and is really where such a development should be built. Take out the city market and there would seem to be enough room. I was kind of thinking about what they should build if there is no casino built on the small area beside the Center. I think that a casino hotel would be just a part of an entertainment district downtown and adults who are faced with gambling choices every day would just have another choice, I don't think that a small urban casino would not really make gambling a greater issue than it is already.
https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/news/local/2020/04/06/kewadin-casino-lansing-wayne-county-lawsuit-sault-ste-marie-chippewa/2863225001/