Editorial: Slot study stats aren't adding up

A study paid for by slot-route operators trumpets the value to the local economy of slot machines in supermarkets and convenience stores, but a closer review finds it has serious flaws.

The study was commissioned after Las Vegas Mayor Jan Laverty Jones earlier this year said she was concerned about the impact of neighborhood gaming on the Las Vegas Valley's quality of life. At that time the neighborhood slot industry responded that slots in these locations make a positive contribution to the economy. In addition, they asserted that without the extra income generated by the slot machines, prices for items in supermarkets and convenience stores would rise.

A Coopers & Lybrand study released two weeks ago attempts to support this view, asserting that the total income of Clark County increased by about $119 million in 1997 because of the neighborhood slot industry. But a national gaming expert, UNLV Professor William Thompson, said this simply is not true. There only are economic gains if players bring new money into the community.

Thompson estimates that tourists account for perhaps 1 percent of the money deposited in neighborhood slot machines. In contrast, on the Strip at least 90 percent of the money wagered comes from tourists. That means gambling on the Strip provides a large net gain to the local economy while neighborhood gambling does not.

The Sun put the assumption of higher-priced consumer goods in a world without neighborhood slots to a real-world test, not a theoretical economic analysis. Sun reporter Gary Thompson compared the prices of 25 random items at a Vons supermarket in Boulder City -- where no gaming is allowed -- to a Vons supermarket with slots in Las Vegas. Guess what? Prices were the same at both stores, debunking the myth.

Ironically, the study commissioned by the slot-route operators ends up poking holes in their argument that they make a significant contribution to the economy. The jury is still out on whether slots should be curtailed, but a healthy dialogue is needed on this issue that goes straight to the heart of Las Vegas' quality of life.

Statistics often get mangled over contentious issues. The debate on this issue should be based on solid facts, not on statistics massaged to match someone's point of view.

archive