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County Council members defend stance on casino boats ? by Angela Barwick
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April 30, 2007 ? This past Saturday morning saw a group of local residents, County Council officials and members of local Republican Party clubs gathering to hash over an ongoing concern in Horry County ? the casino gambling boats.
The meeting comes on the heels of the much publicized Council vote in April to ban the boats altogether from Little River, where they do business today.
Hosted by the Horry County Republican Party, three County Councilmen took the podium to explain their viewpoints and field questions from concerned citizens and casino representatives. Councilmen Harold Worley and Howard Barnard each spoke on their recent vote and their feelings toward the gambling boat issue. Councilman Carl Schwarzkopf acted as moderator for the program.
Schwarzkopf stated the intent of the meeting was to ?gather information so that an informed decision? can be made at the May 15th County Council meeting. It is at that meeting that the Council will make their final decision on whether to ban the boats.
Barnard, who voted in favor of the ban, stated that the problem he has with the boats is in regards to the ?Johnson Act?, officially known as the South Carolina Gambling Cruise Act. ?We (the County) can not ban or tax the boats?, stated Barnard, ?This needs to be fixed at the state level?. Barnard stated that he will continue to vote against the boats for these reasons.
South Carolina Code of Laws, Section 3-11-400, otherwise known as the Gambling Cruise Act, is the bone of contention of both Council members and casino boat owners. The law, in part, reads: ?Each gambling vessel must report to the Department of Revenue, on a monthly basis, the average daily percentage of winnings to losses for each gambling device used on a gambling vessel. The report must be delivered to the Department of Revenue on the twentieth day of the month for the preceding month, in a form and format determined by the department. If no gambling devices are used, the gambling vessel must report to the department that no gambling devices were used. The department must perform an annual audit to verify the accuracy of the reports.?
Worley next took the podium, admitting that the casino boat topic is ?a convoluted situation. I am the first one to say let?s tax them rather than ban them. I would consider a per passenger head tax?. However, Worley did vote in April in favor of the ban.
He further placed the blame of the discord on the Act, stating that ?the Council didn?t pass the Act, the State legislation did and we have to abide by it. We have the options of taxing them ten percent on ticket prices, five percent on revenues or can ban them?. Worley again stressed that he is ?not anti-casino?.
Rep. Tracy Edge, with a history of opposing the casino boats, also spoke to the crowd. He stated that the gambling issue ?has been a problem since 1998 and it just wont go away. I have nothing against gambling but it smells of video poker?. Edge also said that ?I feel that the compromise is fair, but if it is ruled on again at the State level, you might not like what we rule?.
Diamond Girl Casino boat owner Al Shuman stressed that he does not feel it fair to have to pay taxes on every machine?s earnings while out of South Carolina waters.
Shuman stated, "My company reports their monthly earnings, and is willing to work with Council on a set 'per passenger' fee that would directly benefit Horry County and the Little River area specifically."
Shuman is a long time resident of the area and has operated a suscession of casino boats out of Little River.
Sun Cruz Casino boat operator Doug Allen asked the Council to confirm that the boats are now reporting and paying taxes on revenues collected within the state boundaries.
One of the major dissentions is whether the gaming boats should be taxed on revenues earned while beyond the three mile limit at sea.
Tom Herron, a spokesman for Sun Cruz, asked the assemblage ?why is the casino boat suddenly so evil, when we have strip clubs all along the highway, people out there killing themselves, driving drunk and twenty eight pages of escort services in the phone book? Why do we want to ban casino boats??
Herron further stated that ?these are mature people making a decision (to gamble). The South Carolina Education Lottery has benefited Horry County schools by $8.8 million in the past five years. If there is a boarding fee passed, Horry County will get around $7.7 million in the same time frame?.
Other citizens stood to make their opinions heard as well. Local realtor Joann Weigand stated that ?we need to leave that money right here in Little River. We sure don?t want it going to Las Vegas instead?.
Little River residents on hand for the heated debate expressed concern that other problems associated with the boats were not being addressed.
John Muckerman asked, ?What steps are being taken to deal with the pollution caused by these boats? They dump when they are out three miles, but it is still a very shallow coastal shelf?. Muckerman also stated that he would like to see the quality of life in Little River maintained so that his children could fish the waters.
Ann Carris of Little River joined Muckerman in voicing her opposition to the casino boats. ?How do they get by with the noise issue?? asked Carris, ?also the traffic is a problem ? not just the volume, but the speed?
Parking along the streets in Little River was another commonly heard complaint among the residents in attendance.
Carris further asked the Council members if ?any of our other concerns will be heard today. Is this meeting just about the money? The residents of Little River feel lost. We want a happy co-existence but where is the give and take? Are we caught in the fallout and no one cares?? |
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