just maybe the business model that's based on creating new gamblers and new gambling addicts has exhausted its supply.
Maybe it won't rebound.
Jeers: To the pervasive expansion of tribal casinos in the Northwest. The Associated Press reports that the Yakama Indian Nation plans a $90 million expansion of its facility near Toppenish, including a six-story hotel and conference center. In Northeast Oregon, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation are in the midst of a $67 million expansion, which also includes a hotel.
But even as the plans move forward, the market for Indian casinos is declining. Boosters claim the dip is temporary and that the gambling market will flourish in the coming years. We hope not. Gambling is hardly a way to build stronger families and permanent wealth. It just sucks money from largely unrewarded consumers who often fall prey to addiction. That’s partly why the Cowlitz Tribe’s proposed casino project near La Center is the wrong approach.
It would be much wiser for the tribes to spend their short-term gambling gains to fund a more reliable economic strategy.
Jeers: To the pervasive expansion of tribal casinos in the Northwest. The Associated Press reports that the Yakama Indian Nation plans a $90 million expansion of its facility near Toppenish, including a six-story hotel and conference center. In Northeast Oregon, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation are in the midst of a $67 million expansion, which also includes a hotel.
But even as the plans move forward, the market for Indian casinos is declining. Boosters claim the dip is temporary and that the gambling market will flourish in the coming years. We hope not. Gambling is hardly a way to build stronger families and permanent wealth. It just sucks money from largely unrewarded consumers who often fall prey to addiction. That’s partly why the Cowlitz Tribe’s proposed casino project near La Center is the wrong approach.
It would be much wiser for the tribes to spend their short-term gambling gains to fund a more reliable economic strategy.
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