Study says proposed ban would hurt economy

The study said the machines boost the Clark County economy by $119 million a year and provide work for some 2,000 people.

The study by the accounting firm of Coopers & Lybrand said the economic impact would disappear, prices would rise and many of the workers - mainly women over 50 - would be reduced to welfare if slot machines were banned from retail outlets.

"We have a dramatic impact on the economy," said Sean Higgins, president of the Nevada Retail Gaming Association, which represents the interest of slot-route operators.

Jones discounted the survey, saying the slot-route companies do not contribute their proportionate share of taxes for schools, parks and other public facilities.

The $200,000 report cost more than the slot-route operators paid in taxes, she said. The study said Las Vegas receives $159,000 in direct gaming tax revenues and $4.6 million in unidentified "indirect business taxes" each year from slot-route operations.

"If I were (the slot-route operators), I would fire Coopers & Lybrand and bury the study," the mayor said. "I'm incredulous that they want this information out. Maybe they didn't read the report."

Jones denied she wants to ban the slot machines in neighborhood stores, saying she just wants the issue studied. Jones said she is waiting for a citizens committee to make a recommendation.

The study focuses on slot-route operations that provide gaming devices for drugstores, groceries, laundries and convenience stores - excluding bars and restaurants, which were not targeted in any slot-ban proposals.

The study covered 416 retail locations in Clark County that have slot machines, of which 141 are in Las Vegas.

Proprietors of these stores generally allow slot-route operators to install slot machines and video poker machines by either leasing space or sharing in revenues.

The report forecasts that 1,155 jobs in Clark County, including 540 in Las Vegas, would be lost if gaming devices were removed from grocery, convenience and other stores.

The report said Clark County slot-route operators generate $140 million in revenue from video poker and slot machines in grocery stores, convenience stores and other restricted locations, excluding bars and restaurants.

"If that's true, should they be investing in these neighborhoods," Jones said. "They took ($140) million (in revenue), put it in their pocket and they don't put anything back."

Slot-route operators "don't build parks, they don't build recreation centers, they don't build paths," she said.

Coopers & Lybrand said interviews indicated about half of franchised convenience store owners would close their businesses if slot machines are eliminated.

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