From today none of the displaced casino employees along Mississippi’s Gulf Coast will receive further wages and benefits from casino operators. MGM Mirage is the last company to cease payments, Harrah’s programme ended last week and smaller companies offered severance packages after their casinos were destroyed by the effects of Hurricane Katrina. Employees of some of the privately-owned casinos did not receive any benefits. Rebuilding the Gulf Coast casino industry will happen, but the prospect of re-employment at one of those casinos is well over one year away.

When the casinos do re-open, the buildings are expected to have been constructed to specifications ensuring they can better withstand hurricane forces. The face of the Gulf Coast will be changed for ever, maybe even for the better if due care is given to the planning. The Senate has passed a bill with US$7 billion in incentives to rebuild the regional economy but yesterday the House has proposed to exclude casinos, along with massage and tanning parlours, liquor stores, hot-tub facilities, golf courses and country clubs, from the tax breaks. The bill is scheduled for debate today.

President Bush called for a special opportunity zone to be created in regions hit by the hurricane. Tax breaks would provide expanded tax credits for low-income housing and the renovation of historic buildings. 50% of the cost of new property investment could be written off in the region, and small businesses would get investment incentives. The casino workers who have not been relocated or found new jobs will be hoping that the fact that casino rebuilding is now unlikely to benefit from tax incentives will not delay the rebuilding of the Gulf Coast casino industry. (E-12.07.05)

© Copyright 2005 CasinoCompendium



>>> return to archives
>>> return to frontpage