South Carolina Casino News from: http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com
GAMBLING INDUSTRY POSITIVES
Casino boats a boon for Horry County
By Brandon Barron
I am quite surprised at the virtually one-sided debate about SunCruz casino [boat operating from Little River]. Thus far, the public relations battle has seemed to be limited to nothing but negatives about SunCruz and what it brings to Horry County. I would like to outline some positives that I believe have been overlooked when debating the existence of casino boats in our county.
First, SunCruz is an employer of a couple hundred people in the area, many of whom moved here for the sole reason of working for the casino. Many of these people have families and friends who moved to the Horry County area with them. This, of course, is a good thing for the local economy. These families spend money at Horry County businesses, a boost to the local economy. They rent or buy homes, spend money at the grocery stores and gas stations and spend money at other local businesses.
They also moved to a vacation-friendly environment, which in turn makes it very likely that friends and family will visit them here and provide another boost to our economy. The employees also pay state taxes on their wages just like any other employees in the state, thus providing more revenue to the state.
SunCruz also pays high wages when compared with similar jobs in the area, which provides a good opportunity to local people seeking employment. For instance, cashiers on the boat start out making $10 an hour. How many other establishments in the area pay that kind of starting wage for a cashier position? The pay for other positions is well above par for the area as well.
SunCruz casino is also responsible for thousands of visitors to the Horry County area every month. On any given day, anywhere between 400 and 1,100 people will take a voyage aboard the SunCruz ship. Many of these people are not from Horry County, and the casino boat is oftentimes one of the reasons why they choose to visit Horry County. There are many people from Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia and many other surrounding states who choose Horry County as a destination in part or in whole due to the ability to have a fun night or nights aboard the ship.
These people of course spend money on lodging, food, gasoline and many other things in the area. They will also probably see other many beautiful things in the county, which may cause them to make a return visit or to encourage others to visit the area. Without these visitors, many restaurants, bars, hotels and gas stations in the Little River area and greater Horry County would take a substantial hit to their bottom lines.
I have seen many local officials and residents voice complaints that the casino boats are nothing but a blight on the community and that we as residents see no economic returns on having the boats here. As I have pointed out, this opinion is far from reality. There are always two sides to every debate, and I feel as though up until now the positive effects to our community that the casino boats provide have been pretty much ignored. |
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