The chief executive of the gaming’s leading trade organization applauded the passage of the $900 billion economic relief package by Congress but stopped short of saying it was the cure-all for an industry ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a statement released by the American Gaming Association following Monday’s late-night vote on the relief effort, CEO Bill Miller said the casino industry, its employees, and its host communities around the country, “have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic.”
Nearly 1,000 commercial and Indian casinos in 43 states were closed starting at the end of March by governments and tribal authorities, with the majority of the shutdowns ending in the middle of summer. However, the recent COVID-19 forced casinos to close once again in several states, including Michigan, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island.
AGA CEO Bill Miller testifies in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee in July 2020.
Miller said the industry has returned to business, while “enduring mandated closures and operating restrictions, investing heavily in health and safety protocols, and playing a key role in stopping the community spread of COVID. We’ve met these challenges with resolve and resilience.”
Miller said the 5,000-page relief package, which has several components and will provide a one-time payment of $600 to many Americans, was just a start.
“Congress must do their part to provide meaningful relief for businesses and their communities, whose vitality are inextricably linked,” Miller said. “Gaming companies support nearly 2 million American jobs, provide critical tax revenue, and serve as economic engines in communities all across America.”
Through October, nationwide gaming revenues are down 33.4% to $24.16 billion, according to the AGA.
In April, the AGA along with a bipartisan group of U.S. senators and congressional leaders spent several weeks lobbying the White House and the Treasury Department to force the Small Business Administration to revise its regulatory guidelines for the Paycheck Protection Program
The effort allowed small gaming businesses to apply for $310 billion in forgivable paycheck protection loans established under the $2.2 trillion CARES Act. The loans were established to assist companies nationwide that were closed by the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
The current relief package includes $284 billion for first and second forgivable paycheck protection loans for small businesses but does not provide any bailout to major casino corporations. However, many gaming companies sought out willing credit markets to boost balance sheets in the wake of casino closures as the pandemic flared.
To survive any new downturns, many casino operators accessed the debt markets over the past six months to boost balance sheets with available cash and billions of dollars in long term debt. For example, when casinos in Illinois and Pennsylvania closed this month, Boyd Gaming Corp. said it would pay its employees’ wages and benefits during the newest shutdowns.
Congressional reaction
Nevada Representative Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, whose district includes the Strip, said the relief package, “includes less than I would have liked, but this is the best we could do with Donald Trump in the White House and Republicans in control of the Senate.”
Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nevada
Titus said she would work with the incoming Biden Administration “to build upon this down payment. Las Vegas is hurting badly, and some help is better than none at all.”
Miller said the AGA would also work with the Biden Administration and the new Congress “to provide tax relief that will save gaming jobs and alleviate costs, liability protections that advance responsible reopening, incentives for reviving travel and tourism, and essential support for tribal nations.”
In October, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nevada, and Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-North Dakota, introduced legislation that offers tax credits and other incentives to boost the struggling convention and tradeshow business while offering relief and recovery measures to the hospitality, travel, and tourism industries.
The bill would establish a tax credit for the cost of attending or hosting a conference or tradeshow in the United States from 2021 through 2023.
Cortez Masto said the bill would help Las Vegas, where airline volume into McCarran International Airport is down 60%. Also, the Las Vegas Strip has seen six straight months of zero convention attendance, as all major trade shows have been canceled and pushed into next year. She said other big convention cities, such as Chicago, Dallas, Orlando, and San Francisco, would also benefit.
Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgaming.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.
