Economy focus of gaming panel

BILOXI, MISS. -- The National Gambling Impact Study Commission today turned its attention to gaming's role in the national economy.

This came as the communities of Biloxi and Gulfport rallied their forces to show the positive impact of gambling on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

On the national level, however, experts testified that gambling does not have the same positive influence on the economy.

UNLV Professor William Thompson told the nine-member panel that the costs of gambling outweigh its benefits.

"When indirect costs are factored into the equation, gambling has to be seen as a net economic loser for the nation," Thompson said in prepared remarks.

Thompson, a professor of public administration at UNLV's College of Business, said legalized gambling creates jobs for some people, but those jobs become available "only at the cost of other lost jobs."

The biggest downside is the increase in compulsive gamblers, he explained.

"Costs of problem gambling deprive the vast majority of the public of freedoms to expend money as they choose," he said.

Timothy Ryan, dean of the College of Business Administration at the University of New Orleans agreed with Thompson that gambling has an overall negative impact on the economy.

"For the most part, gambling does not create economic growth at the national level," Ryan told the commission.

Both Ryan and Thompson said gambling leads to more crime, bankruptcies and other social problems.

But local and state officials here touted the benefits of gambling to Mississippi and its Gulf coast.

Several thousand residents, primarily workers at the area's 11 casinos, rallied Wednesday night in the heart of the downtown district to show their support for gambling.

Calling it the "Mississippi Miracle," officials cited statistics that show gambling has contributed $1 billion to the state's economy since it was legalized in 1992.

More than $7 billion in new development has been created along with more than 50,000 jobs, officials said.

The state's welfare rolls have dropped, officials added, as the median household income has risen by nearly 50 percent.

Jimmy Heidel, executive director of the Mississippi Department of Economic and Community Development, submitted testimony praising the advent of casino gaming in the state.

"As an economic development professional," I submit to you that gaming -- as it has been regulated, licensed and taxed in Mississippi -- is economic development in its purest form," Heidel said.

"We have not faltered in our conviction that this was a wise investment that continues to pay huge dividends over and above initial expectations."

The panel, however, was to hear more gaming horror stories today. Two women were to testify about their broken lives with husbands who had gambling habits.

And more of gaming's downside was to be discussed in an afternoon crime panel before the federal commission moves its hearing to New Orleans on Friday.

This is the fifth and last hearing before the commission visits Las Vegas in November.

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