Casino

Casinos have become a large part of cities' economy and hundreds of thousands of

people's lives. Casinos are exciting for many people who feel they have a chance to win

it big. Because so much money is flowing into casinos, the local business are being

affected. Most are not thriving with the new tourism and the seemingly revived economy.

In 1994 more people made the trip to a casino then to a ball park (Popkin). The casinos

are attracting so much of American's dollars that they spent less on books, music albums

and attractions (Reed).

The people are spending less money outside of the casino. Which is not helping

the vast majority of local businesses. This is what is most often overlooked by the city.

The money from tourists and the community is not going into the local businesses, but

instead the casino. Robert Goodman, Urban Planning professor states: "Newly opened

casinos suck money out of the local economy, away from existing movie theaters, car

dealerships, clothing shops and sports arenas" (Popkin).

Casino'

English: Picture of the Tropicana from the Boardwa...

English: Self made image. GDFL. Aerial view of the...

Casinos take money away from

existing businesses. In Atlantic City, where casinos were supposed to save their failing

economy, over 900 of their 2,100 small businesses have closed and the number of

restaurants was reduced from 243 to 146. By providing everything a person needs, the

casinos are designed to keep people inside. The truth is casinos drain money out of an

area into a far away bank account, most often never going back into the community.

Casino revenues may look good on paper to the average person, and to politicians who are

constantly being pushed to gain more revenue. In reality they are almost a nightmare to

the small locally owned businesses. Jobs are one of the main reasons for the growth of

casinos.

Across the...