Push for more gambling after stadium bill passed. No surprise. What will it mean? More and more gambling.

It looks like the money source for the new stadium, electronic pulltabs isn't very successful.  Only a handful of bars, 85 out of 6,000, have introduced the electronic pulltabs.

The sluggish pace of electronic pulltab sales has the state looking at fresh venues to entice gamblers -- including the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

The devices are supposed to pay the state's share of the new Minnesota Vikings stadium. But so far, only 85 of the state's more than 6,000 bars have installed the devices. That has led to revenues that are 51 percent below projection, forcing the state to downgrade its revenue estimates by millions of dollars for the coming year.

Gov. Mark Dayton met with state gambling and revenue officials Wednesday for a briefing on e-pulltab sales. Charities have been slow to embrace the new technology, but Dayton predicted the problem will solve itself as the devices catch on and new vendors are licensed by the state...

"We kind of walked into it gingerly, because it's gambling and we're Minnesotans. Would we become another Las Vegas?" Vaughn said with a laugh. "But it's people sitting with iPods, playing games. ... It seems like it's going to work."

 From the governor's comments, it doesn't look like he'd be concerned if we did start looking more like a gambling center.

After his briefing, Dayton said he is not worried about the long-term prospects for Minnesota's pioneering effort on electronic pulltabs. The state is the first to use e-pulltabs to benefit charities and capital investment projects like the stadium.

"I don't think there is any reason to be concerned," Dayton said. "Any time a conceptual projection impacts with the real world, things change."

When the news of the lackluster forecast broke last week, Dayton briefly speculated that the devices could someday be installed in grocery stores.

I remember when the bill was being pushed, the charitable gambling folks didn't think it would work out, because the state was taking so much of the revenue.  Wasn't enough for the bars to make it profitable for them.  With that knowledge out there, why was the legislation still jammed through?  To get the Vikings stadium bill through the legislature.  They'd worry about redoing the stadium bill later.

I thought then and do now, that the stadium would lead to a push for a further expansion of gambling to make up the deficit.  Looks like that's just what is happening.

Will the Vikings stadium bill pass?

Will the stadium bill pass this session? If you read media accounts, it sounds like a done deal. Momentum and advocates like big business and labor are all for it. 

But when you look closer and talk to individual legislators, I'm not so sure. The funding is still a mess. The electronic pulltabs and bingo aren't a reliable funding source and most legislators know that. There are deal sweeteners for other projects and constituencies which will give others pause. 

On top of that I don't think a lot of legislators want to pass a billion dollar, state funded, project for a very wealthy sports team owner before a major election. I think many would rather push it off to next year. 

To be sure, it's gained new life this week after it looked like it was in big trouble. One lobbyist told me that's due to the business community making it a top priority. Could it pass? Certainly. Will it pass this session? I don't necessarily think so. We'll find out in the next week or so.

Where to build a new Vikings stadium - Arden Hills, Minneapolis?

The Senate Tax Committee held hearings on where a new Vikings' stadium should be built. Vikings want Arden Hills because, among several reasons, it will allow for lots of real estate development around the new stadium. Others, particularly Minneapolis politicians, would like to keep it in Minneapolis. Minneapolis has the advantage of costing less because infrastructure to accommodate the stadium is already in place.

What's interesting is the funding discussion did not include much talk about using gambling monies. Though that will change in the Senate tax hearings next week when funding ideas will be discussed.

Group of legislators say no to gambling expansion for new Vikings stadium.

A bipartisan group of legislators held a press conference to voice their opposition to an expansion of gambling to pay for a new Vikings stadium.

The group included Republican senators' David Hann, Warren Limmer and David Thompson, Democrat senators' Scott Dibble and Tony Lourey, and Democrat reps Ann Lenczewski, Diane Loeffler, and Frank Hornstein.

It attracted a lot of media attention because it's a hot issue, e.g. Vikings stadium, possible session on the issue and it brought together such an eclectic group of legislators.

It just goes to show how legislators one day will agree on one issue and the next will be on opposite sides of another issue.

Senator Hann pointed out that gambling revenues isn't free money but causes a lot of damage along the way.

In recent years, almost every budget challenge we’ve faced has been met with a call for more casinos,” said Sen. David Hann, R-Eden Prairie. “The proponents of gambling describe this as harmless fun, entertainment and, in effect, free money.

“None of that is true. In fact, casino gambling is highly destructive to individuals, [and] to families,” he said.

I think it will be hard to pass a new stadium funding plan in a November special session. Some legislators don't want a special session period. Others oppose the gambling. Others oppose the stadium. And others are nervous about spending hundreds of millions on a new stadium when the state is likely to face additional budget shortfalls.

Predatory Gambling - MN legislatures' next move?

60 Minutes story reveals the predatory nature of state endorsed gambling.

The gambling industry is designing machines that are addicting innocent people - and taking their paychecks.

Is this good fiscal policy for Minnesota?

CBS’s 60 Minutes shows us the dangers of adding more casinos in "Slot Machines: The Big Gamble."

CLICK HERE to see video story.

Gubernatorial candidate Mark Dayton wants to tax the rich in Minnesota - big time.

Former US Senator Mark Dayton, who wants to be our next governor, announced his proposal to "tax the rich" and receptivity for a new state owned casino.

Former U.S. Senator Mark Dayton, a DFL candidate for governor, is offering new details of his "tax the rich" proposal.

Dayton has frequently talked on the campaign trail about his proposal to raise income taxes for the wealthiest 10 percent of Minnesotans. He said the change would bring fairness to the tax system and provide the state much-needed revenue.

During a wide-ranging news conference Monday, Dayton said he would propose three new income tax tiers. He also said households with annual income of $150,000 and above would have to pay more.

"You've got three ways you can balance the budget," said Dayton. "You can raise taxes on the richest Minnesotans. You can raise taxes on the rest of Minnesotans, or you can pretend you're going to wave some magic wand and $5 billion to $7 billion is going to disappear from state spending without consequence to anyone, which is the Republican answer right now, which belongs more on the comic page than it does on the front page"...

In another place, he suggests this would raise about a $1 billion.

This tax favoritism for the rich is costing our schools, universities, hospitals and other essential services upwards of $1 billion per year. It may be great for political support and campaign contributions. But it's terrible for Minnesota. It's unfair, and it's wrong.

Then he says he wants to open a state run casino to raise $200 million a year.

Dayton also said Monday he would consider supporting a Twin Cities casino to raise money for Minnesota's ailing budget, but not for a new Vikings stadium. He said a metro-area casino would raise about $200 million a year.

He says such a facility would bring "much needed competition" to Mystic Lake Casino, the only tribally run casino in the Twin Cities. The Prior Lake establishment is owned by the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community.

A few observations.

• He would seem to not realize or care that "the rich" are also the people who create jobs which employ lower income folks. So one can expect his proposal to hurt employment and cause businesses to leave the state.
• His casino idea will no doubt alienate the Indian Tribes which have been huge DFL supporters.
• Casinos and gambling actually cost the state money in terms of all the social problems which result.
• Raising taxes on the wealthy would only hit a small portion of the current state deficit. If it's a $5.4 billion deficit that's $1,000 per man, woman and child. I'm curious how much of that deficit he'd be willing to eliminate through spending cuts.
  
• I have to give him credit for being very up front with his desire to raise taxes rather than being vague and non-committal. Hopefully, his announcement will make people realize that this is probably the tip of the iceberg. There will be a lot more tax increase proposals following this one if it's already a centerpiece of his campaign.

MN Lottery sales go up and expect a push for more gambling in Minnesota.

The Minnesota state lottery reports record sales of lottery tickets, $481 million sold in fiscal year 2009. And a record $123 million going into the state's coffers. The result? Expect a push for more gambling in Minnesota.

Reasons there will be a big push for expanding gambling in the state are the state's ongoing budget deficit and the need for a new Vikings' stadium. One's already hearing on sports talk radio, the answer to building a new Viking stadium is one arm bandits. And Rep. Tom Hackbarth recently proposed a constitutional amendment to place slot machines at the horse race tracks. This would put the Vikings and the NFL in a tough spot, because the league is very nervous about any link between football and gambling. If this were to pass, it would mean gambling efforts directly subsidizing a NFL football team.

Beyond those issues, gambling is simply a bad idea. We already have too much gambling in Minnesota. Gambling constitutes a tax on the poor who gamble in disproportionate numbers to others in society. And the social costs far outweigh any social benefits, e.g. crime, family break-up to mention a few. It's a corrupting influence on society and should be rolled back not expanded.