Legislative panel OKs gaming

HONOLULU -- A bill earmarking 96 percent of taxes collected from shipboard gambling for educating Hawaii children from pre-kindergarten through college was approved Friday by the House Tourism Committee.

Despite its passage in the committee, the bill is considered a longshot to win passage from the full Legislature and the governor has said he opposes any effort to legalize gambling.

The bill would allow up to four ships to operate offshore casinos and would require casino operators to pay 12 percent taxes on their revenues, said Rep. Jerry Chang, the committee chairman.

Casino operators would pay the state a nonrefundable, upfront tax of $10 million a year, said Chang, D-South Hilo.

"If we have $10 million up front from each operator, and there's four operators, that's $40 million up front," he said. "There's a $10 admission charge that will go into that state gaming fund.

"If you base that on the amount of people that's already leaving Hawaii to go to Vegas a month, that's 40,000, that's $400,000 per month going into the coffers."

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