Hawaii Mulls Poker & Casinos for Citizens
Written by Renee K | Tuesday, February 16th, 2010
A decade after major efforts to legalize poker and casino gambling in Hawaii failed, interest groups are notw indicating that now may be the time to try again. State House lawmakers are mulling the idea of introducing a single casino on the island of O’ahu or a number of casinos on Hawaiian home lands in a bid to bring in much needed revenue for the state.
The state has a massive deficit of $1.2 billion, and it is likely that allowing poker and other table games in casinos may very well help towards closing that sum. However, opposition against the idea in the state Senate is very strong and many doubt that a gambling bill will receive the two thirds majority needed to pass the bill through two chambers.
Nevertheless, the bill has been cleared by an initial committee review and gambling proponents believe they have a fighting chance.
Rep. Marcus Oshiro (Wahiawa), Chairman of the House Finance Committee said: “I think we should have a public hearing. It’s been about 10 years since we’ve had a good public hearing on these issues, in line with the idea that we have to consider all options.”
“Personally, I’ve never supported gaming,” he added. “But I think it deserves that public debate and discussion.”
The bill, introduced by State Rep. Jon Riki Karamatsu will see the creation of a five member gambling commission under the auspices of the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. This commission would issue a five year operating license to run a casino on O’ahu.
While the bill initially stated that only tourists would be able to play poker and casino games, lawmakers amended the terms to include tourists and residents over the age of 21.
In a study commissioned a decade ago, it was predicted that the creation of two casinos on O’ahu could generate as much as $700 million each year and create nearly 20,000 jobs.
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· Written by Renee K · Filed Under Poker Gossip · Comments Off
